The Daily Happenings of Konoha
by SleepyDreamGirl
Summary: “Urgh! No! My eyes, MY HOLY EYES! AHH! No! MY HOLY LIFE!” 15 to 20 chpts NaruHina SasuSaku NejiTen ShikaIno RomanceHumour fic :D Chpt 5's up!
1. The Beginning of it All

Disclaimer :: I do not own Naruto.

A/N : Erhms. I was inspired to write a hilarious NaruHina SasuSaku NejiTen ShikaIno ficlet after reading loads of the mentioned pairings :D It's like, I just have to write it out. And so here I am! Probably a 15-20 chapter-ed story. Enjoy!(:

_The Daily Happenings of Konoha_

_Chpt 1 – The Beginning of it All_

_By :: SleepyDreamGirl_

Birds perched on branches chirped merrily; the sun was shining brightly and all was peaceful and serene in Konohagakure…to be broken by loud shouts and yells emitted by the number one hyperactive blonde in the village.

"Urgh! No! My eyes-MY HOLY EYES! AHH! No!-MY HOLY LIFE!!"

Naruto was dashing around madly, swinging his arms around wildly, acting as though acid got into his eyes. A sudden huge, angry aura bursted out from behind him, and Naruto screamed.

"OH SHIT!"

He scrambled for cover behind a just-walking-past-by Kakashi, whimpering, "Kakashi-sensei! Help me!" The said man blinked, putting away his perverted book back in his pouch for safety when he saw who was trying to bore holes through Naruto with the angry look in her eyes.

"NA. RU.TO."

Naruto winced at how his name was being pronounced. It was, of course, common to see people chasing after Naruto for his life whenever he always did something to anger them. But…to anger the famed Weapon Mistress was really a big fat mistake of Naruto's. And he realized it too late.

"DIE!"

"AHH! KAKASHI-SENSEI, HELP!!"

The said man once again blinked, before giving a mysterious slight smile and 'poof-ing' into thin air. The poor blonde haired boy was left alone with no protection. Villagers had long stopped their daily shopping of groceries to watch this amusing scene unfolding, and among them, Hinata, Ino and Sakura.

While Ino and Sakura had laughed loudly at seeing how Naruto was getting beaten up by Tenten, Hinata had sighed silently and wondered what her boyfriend had done this time. She prayed that Tenten wouldn't had him too severely wounded.

So much for prayers.

"…that'll teach you…stupid loudmouth…"

Tenten huffed and walked away. Sakura had walked up to Naruto, asking him what he had done to anger the Weapon Mistress so much, and Hinata saw her drop her bag of groceries, covering her agape mouth with her hands when it seemed that Naruto had finished.

She'd squealed and giggled, giving him hard slaps on the back while he winced in pain.

Sakura happily skipped back to where Ino and Hinata was, her smile seemingly stretching from ear to ear. When asked what happened, she giggled again and whispered.

"Oooh, the lovely pure flower of us 4 had just been taken."

Time seemed to stand still, until Ino suddenly burst out laughing, while Hinata turned away to hide the smile that was forming on her face.

When the laughter and chuckles had subsided, Naruto, feeling well enough to finally stand up after withstanding his brutal torture from Tenten, made his way to Hinata.

"Hina-chan! Let's go to Ichiraku!"

"Ah…hai, Naru-kun," she had smiled.

The two left, leaving Ino and Sakura alone. Though the two girls had barely noticed at all, what with the laughter and all. When they finally noticed that Naruto and Hinata was gone, Ino had given a small 'hmph'.

"Great. Just greeeat. Just when this was our threes' shopping hour, Naruto comes and snatches our Hinata. The next moment I know, Sasuke-kun is gonna pick you up, and as usual, I'm supposed to be left with Tenten, but …with Tenten gone from the list of bachelorettes too, I'm the only one left!"

The blonde-haired girl had started to ramble on and wailed to no one in particular. And, as abruptly as it had begun, as abruptly as she ended.

"Oh well."

Sakura slanted her eyes at her friend's weird behavior.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Two miso ramens!"

"Coming right up!"

Naruto smiled happily at the thought of his delicious ramen, while Hinata sat silently by his side.

"Hina-chan?"

…no response.

"Hina-chan?"

Yet, no response.

"Hina-chan!"

"Ah, uh, hai?"

Naruto frowned slightly. It was highly unlikely to find Hinata somewhere in DreamLand, but it seemed that she had only just gotten out of DreamLand.

"What's troubling you?"

Hinata smiled. One of the many, many points she had liked about her boyfriend; his ableness to sense even the slightest thing that was wrong with her.

"Well…could you tell me the details of how Neji-nii-san hooked up with Tenten?"

"Hina-chan!"

"I really, really can't help my curiousity in this," Hinata chuckled softly.

Naruto grinned.

"Well, well…you want the entire of the whole story?"

"Yes,"

"Even the tiniest little minor details? Even those extra itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-"

"Yes, Naru-kun, just like those extra small details you always notice on me,"

Naruto smiled again.

"Well…actually…"

_.FlashBack._

_Naruto's stomach made an extremely embarrassing growling noise. He had just came back to Konoha after a Rank B mission in Suna, and was definitely both tired and hungry._

_I'll go for a quick bite first, Naruto thought._

_He whistled happily as he half-skipped, half-walked to Ichiraku, thinking of exactly how many bowls of ramen he could fill into his stomach._

_And a weird type of a clinking noise reached his ears._

_He hurriedly hid behind some trees, as he had been taking a shortcut to Ichiraku through the forest. He strained his ears to try and hear that sound again, before catching the faint weird clink of it, coming from his left._

_He turned, trying to catch the source of the noise._

_And there it was. Weapons littered all over the ground. And feet stepping on the weapons had been the source of the weird clinking sounds._

_Naruto widened his eyes at the sight before him, quickly getting behind the covers of some trees again. He rubbed his eyes over and over and over again, before confirming the sight in front of him to be true, really true, not just some weird imaginary scene that popped up in his head due to the hot sun._

_Neji and Tenten._

_Tenten being slowly pushed back against a tree, courtesy of Neji._

_Neji, arms around Tenten's waist._

_Tenten, arms around Neji's neck._

_Neji and Tenten, noses brushing against each other's._

_Naruto blinked again. He could not access any information inside his brain. It was coming in jumbles of sentences and he tried to link it together._

_Neji and Tenten, kissing each other._

_The last sentence that was accessed through his brain made no sense. He tried to link it somehow with the other sentences, but it just made a total mess of his confused mind._

_At the end of his wits, feeling so frustrated, he 'URGH!'-ed, loudly._

_Naruto started running for his 'holy' life and tried to get the last sentence out of his brain through his 'holy' eyes._

_.End FlashBack._

Naruto finished his story happily, not failing to notice Hinata stifling her laughter.

"Hina-chan?"

"O-oh my g-god…N-naru-kun…you're s-so h-hilarious!"

Naruto tried to piece what she said together, with great difficulty. When he finally did, though, he pouted with his cutest puppy eyes that he could muster, and whimpered.

"Geez, Hina-chan…"

Hinata tried her best not to squeal too much when she saw Naruto's adorable expression. She laughed softly instead, giving him a chaste, swift kiss on the lips almost instantaneously.

Naruto's eyes immediately lit up and he had a little blush forming on his cheeks.

Even after around 6 months of dating, Naruto would still blush whenever Hinata kissed him. And to think Hinata got over this problem sooner than he did. Sakura was laughing her head off when Naruto had sheepishly told her, after much constant pleading from the pink-haired girl as to how their relationship had been.

The couple chuckled together as their ramens arrived.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Simple, nice and easy…hmph. As if." Ino grumbled.

"It's not 'as if', it's real, Ino. Just like how Naruto and Hinata had gotten together, and maybe also Neji and Tenten," Sakura protested.

"If finding true love in my life is really simple, nice and easy as you had put it, where's mine?"

"Your what?"

"Boyfriend!"

Sakura sighed.

"Fate, girl. Things like love takes fate and luck to decide."

"Yeah," Ino snorted.

Sakura rolled her eyes. There was no arguing around Ino that could be won. But this particular argument was one that Sakura had to win no matter what.

"Look, Ino. Fine, maybe it isn't simple, nice and easy as I had put it, but trust me. It'll come one day. I mean, c'mon, me and Sasuke's doing just fine aren't we? And we didn't exactly get together in a simple, nice and easy way,"

"…"

"Okkays, case closed. My side of the argument won. Now would you stop being so pessimistic?"

"…" Ino snorted again.

"I'll take it as a yes, then. Now let's go on some shopping spree! Boys need not cloud our minds every single second of our living moments," Sakura grinned.

Ino hmph-ed, and acted reluctant to join Sakura in her shopping spree. By the end of it, Ino and Sakura were carrying a bazillion bags full of stuffs. And, they were both laughing away.

Typical girls.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Hyuuga,"

"Uchiha,"

Both had called out each other's name with such malice and icy venom dripped on it. Tenten sweat-dropped.

"Neji, stop it, and Sasuke, I would greatly appreciate it if you could stop this too," she had chided.

Seeing as how unmoving the two ice blocks had been even after her chiding, she raised her voice up a notch.

"HYUUGA NEJI! I SAID STOP IT!"

Tenten then proceeded to turn sweetly towards Sasuke.

"Sasuke-_san_, I would really appreciate it damn much if you would stop this too,"

A raised eyebrow from the Uchiha got Tenten offering.

"I'll ask Sakura to accompany me to go shopping more often, rather than her always burdening you with the chore of it,"

A smirk formed on his face, him mouthing 'Thanks,' and poof-ing into thin air.

Neji had 'hn'-ed when Sasuke went off, and 'hn'-ed once more when Tenten turned around to give him a slight glance.

"Neji, that was real childish of you to actually engage in some staring contest with the Uchiha. What, is this some sort of a Byakugan vs Sharingan?"

Neji snorted and turned away.

"It wasn't like I was the one who started all this,"

Tenten raised her eyebrows but pressed no further.

"Whatever it is, Neji,"

Neji turned away again.

"Did you catch Uzumaki, by the way?"

The sight of Tenten immediately clenching her fists and gritting her teeth wasn't a really appeasing sight to Neji, and he assumed that Naruto had miraculously escaped from the wraths of the Weapon Mistress's hands.

"Yeahs, he was beaten to a pulp,"

Neji said nothing.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Hinata giggled softly; under the pale blue moonlight, she looked like an angel descended to Earth to Naruto. They had finished their lunches, ramen, ages ago, and had went for a walk through some secluded parts of the forest, taking a breather.

Before they knew it, tiredness made them sit down under the shades of the trees, and both had soon fallen asleep; Naruto on Hinata's lap, with Hinata's hand in the midst of stroking Naruto's wild blonde hair.

The couple had awoken to the pale moonlight shining directly in their faces, and Naruto had offered to walk Hinata back home.

She had laughed at Naruto's attempt to try and mimic the old hag he had met in his recent Rank B mission in Suna, and she found it hilarious how Naruto could actually mimic the crooked mouth of the old lady so much alike.

"…such manners! Real atrocious, he…" Naruto mimicked.

Hinata laughed softly yet again. Naruto continued to talk animatedly to her until they finally reached the Hyuuga estates, earning a little whimper from the blonde boy. He had always hated parting with Hinata.

Hinata, being the alert girl she was, smiled at Naruto, and held his hands.

"You don't expect me to be within your sights 24/7 neh, Naru-kun?"

"I don't expect it, but it'll come true when you marry me. Then, we'll live in a simple apartment, and have kids, and I'll become the Rokudaime and, and when I come home from work, Hina-chan, you'll greet me with a kiss and…"

Hinata sweatdropped as Naruto rambled on. But, it was really sweet of Naruto to have said all that.

"Arigatou, Naru-kun. Aishiteru."

Hinata tiptoed and leaned forward onto Naruto, putting her arms around his neck, slowly closing the distance between their faces. Caught unexpectedly, Naruto had let out a small gasp when Hinata kissed him. When they finally broke away for oxygen, Naruto had that blush upon his face again.

Hinata chuckled.

"You're so adorable at times, Naru-kun."

Naruto blushed further, the redness of his face almost resembling a tomato. And just at that moment, an evil scheme popped into his mind. He smirked as his blush faded almost immediately.

"Neh Hina-chan…"

"Hn-"

She got cut off, courtesy of Naruto, who had suddenly pulled Hinata closer to him and settled his arms around Hinata's waist, placing a kiss on her lips.

This time round, Hinata was caught off guard, and had widened her eyes in surprise at first. But when Naruto's lips came begging for entrance into her mouth, she smiled and settled her arms around his neck once more, and granted Naruto's request.

They explored each other's mouths, finding the faint taste of their earlier miso ramens.

Ah, sweet heaven.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Hinata-sama?"

Hinata let out a small gasp, jumping back in shock.

"N-neji-nii-san?"

Neji looked back at her.

"…hai?"

Hinata sighed in relief. She had though that it was her father, and was afraid of what would happen if he had discovered that she had returned home so late.

Neji raised an eyebrow and continued, "Hinata-sama, why did you return so late?"

"Neji-nii-san, I've long told you not to add 'sama' behind my name anymore," Hinata sighed again.

"It's not a habit I can change easily. Why did you come back so late?" Neji changed back the topic.

Hinata bit her lips tentatively. She knew that Neji had been wary of the relationship between her and Naruto, and had always been trying to protect Hinata from any 'harm' Naruto might cause her. It wasn't a really good idea to tell him that she had just been out all day with Naruto.

"Err…wait, Neji-nii-san, before that, I have to confirm something."

Neji raised his eyebrows once more.

"I heard that you are finally together with Tenten-san."

Neji cursed softly, clenching his fists. _I'm going to kill that stupid loudmouth, _he thought.

Almost as if Hinata could read minds, she added, "Only Naruto-kun, Ino-san, Sakura-chan and me knows about it,"

Neji almost sighed in relief. _Almost._

"It was Uzumaki who told you, right?"

Hinata dared not say further, in protection for her boyfriend. She didn't want him injured again, especially after the brutal beating he had gotten from Tenten.

Neji sighed and rubbed his temples. He hadn't really wanted any others to know about his newly-found relationship with Tenten, but it seemed impossible now.

"Never mind. I won't injure him that much, so don't worry too much, Hinata-sama, and go to sleep early."

Hinata winced and nodded slightly.

"Good night,"

"Good night, Neji-nii-san,"

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Sakura plopped onto her bed, grinning away like a lunatic.

Right after her shopping spree with Ino, Sasuke had popped out of nowhere, dragging Sakura away from Ino, who had started rambling on to herself about how she was officially left alone, left to die as a spinster, and Sakura sweatdropped.

She had thought it was a bad idea to leave Ino alone in the state she was in, until they saw the lazy Nara sluggishly walking across, hands in his pocket, and Ino had yelled for him to accompany her.

Sakura thought she heard Shikamaru muttered a 'Troublesome…" under his breath before she left with Sasuke.

_Typical Nara, _Sakura laughed.

Sasuke then brought her to the training grounds where they, as a team, had trained in as genins. He had led Sakura there quietly, holding on to her hand all the while. When they finally reached the grounds, Sasuke was still as quiet as ever.

"Sasuke?"

"…py anni.." he muttered something incoherently.

"What?"

"I said happy anniversary,"

"Oh," Sakura smiled.

A few seconds passed…a few minutes passed…the cricket was chirping slowly in the background…

"WHAT?! SASUKE YOU SAID HAPPY ANNIVERSARY? Nonono, wait, you're not Sasuke! You kidnapped my Sasuke, oh my god, what did you do to him?! You had better-"

Sasuke grumbled. And he shut her up with a kiss. But still.

"OH MY GOD! You stole my kiss! It's only meant for Sasuke and Sasuke only! Who are you, you hentai stranger?! AHH! SASUKE!"

"…"

"HENTAI! HENTAI! HENTAAAAAAI!"

"Sakura, shush."

"HEEEEEEEENTAAAAAAAAAAAAI!"

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes, carelessly tossing something from his pocket to Sakura, who caught the unknown object just in time, before it almost dropped onto the ground.

"HEEEEEN…tai…" she stopped in midst of her screaming as she saw what the unknown object was.

Silence filled the atmosphere. Sasuke opened one of his eyes only to see Sakura coming towards him, and the next moment, her playfully teasing him into opening his mouth with her tongue.

And to think he complied.

When they _finally _broke away for the undeniable need for air, Sakura beamed at Sasuke, unable to contain the smile that was coming out.

"You're really Sasuke,"

Said person grunted.

"I can't believe you're really Sasuke,"

He grunted once more. Sakura squealed.

"You actually remembered our anniversary, and even…"

Sasuke smirked this time round instead of grunting to reply.

"You even…did you sew this out yourself?"

"What do you think?"

Sakura chuckled. Her boyfriend was just so unpredictable. She gave Sasuke a small peck on his cheek, and muttered 'Thanks'.

And the arrogant Uchiha smirked once more.

He had sent her home after that, and this time, Sasuke bid Sakura farewell by placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, before leaving.

Which leads to Sakura plopping onto her bed, grinning like a lunatic. Tightly clutched in her hands, was a chibi-fied doll of herself, wearing a blue shirt with the words 'Property Of Uchiha Sasuke; HANDS OFF."

Just the gender opposite of what she had given Sasuke exactly a year ago, a chibi-fied doll of him wearing a pink shirt with the words 'Haruno Sakura's Sasuke; HIS LIPS ARE MINE ONLY."

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

END : CHAPTER 1 :

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

A/N : Okays…one of the longest fics I've yet to write without slacking off. Fine, I've made some character changes. Naruto's a wee bit shy, Hinata's no longer shy (to be uncovered in later chpts :D), Sasuke's .. Sasuke, Sakura's hyper, Neji's .. Neji. Tenten's fierce, Shikamaru's .. errhms. Ino's hyper! xD Ah well. Tried to rush this for my birthday yesterday, 8th August, but it seems I was too late. Never minds. Happy 42nd Birthday S'pore(: & this is dedicated to Geneva, a Happy Advanced Birthday for 10th August. Whee! Reviews would be greatly appreciated to show how much you care for this fluffy story xD


	2. Hokage Towers & KonohaCruises

Disclaimer :: Don't own Naruto, never will.

A/N : HELLOS EARTHLINGS! xD Rushing this up once agains (: thks LoveKibaAndShinoForever, first reviewer! omigawrsh x) Enjoy:D

_The Daily Happenings of Konoha_

_Chpt 2 – Hokage Towers & KonohaCruises_

_By :: SleepyDreamGirl_

"Troublesome,"

"Shikamaru!"

"What? It's really troublesome,"

"Geez!" Ino sighed in defeat.

_If just walking me to the Hokage Towers is deemed as troublesome…he's such a lazy ass!_ she frowned.

"Shika-chan…"

Shikamaru shuddered instantaneously upon hearing his pet name from long ago.

"Please! Please please please please PLEASE!!" Ino shot Shikamaru her puppy eyes.

The over 200 IQ genius groaned. "Alright, fine, just stop giving me your puppy look!"

Ino grinned and posed a secret victory sign. _Yosha! _she laughed evilly on the inside.

That was where the Neji Tenten pair found Ino and Shikamaru; all four of them on their way to the Hokage Towers. Each pair posed the other with a quizzical look, before Ino told them that they were on their way to the Hokage Towers, and remembered to ask Tenten a question.

"TENTEN! My dear girl! You finally got Neji?"

Tenten turned scarlet, while Neji got reminded to kill Naruto when he saw him. Ino smiled happily as if not sensing anything, and took Tenten's red face as a yes.

"Oh my god! Why didn't you tell me, huh?"

"…"

"Tenten?"

"…"

"TENTEN!"

"WHAT!"

Ino winced at the sudden loudness erupted from the Weapon Mistress and decided that it wouldn't be safe for her to continue pestering Tenten for answers. She, after all, had no wish to end up like a slaughtered pig.

"Ehehe. It's nothing, actually," Ino beamed.

Tenten sweatdropped.

And so, they continued their silent trek towards the Hokage Towers…

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"NO! BAA-CHAN, I'M SERIOUS! REALLY! NEJI AND TENTEN WERE REALLY KIS-"

Neji, Tenten, Ino and Shikamaru entered the Godaime's room.

"sing…" Naruto winced.

Neji and Tenten growled simultaneously. Naruto began to step back, hiding behind the Godaime.

"Uhh…sing! Yeah! I was telling Baa-chan about how much I loved singing! Lalala…" he whimpered and tried to sing meekly, while Neji and Tenten continued to death-glare at Naruto's retreating figure.

Tsunade sighed and told Shizune to bring her some aspirins. She could feel a headache coming her way.

"Ts-"

"It's alright, have your way with him. I don't mind," Tsunade turned away.

"BAA-CHAN! AHH!!" Naruto tried scramble for safety behind Ino and Shikamaru, who both muttered, "Sorry, we would really love to help, but we don't want to end up in the hospital with injuries all over us."

Naruto squeaked.

And once again, he got brutally tortured by the Weapon Mistress, and the Hyuuga Genius too, this time round.

"Pretty…pretty pretty little stars…how I wonder what you are…" Naruto, with a black eye on his left and a broken tooth hanging from his mouth, half-muttered, half-sang, raising his right arm to grab the imaginary little stars before he finally fainted on the ground.

Tsunade blinked and noted that she'll count on the combined wraths of Neji and Tenten the next time Naruto does anything to anger her, smiling all the while.

At this moment, Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura entered the room, only to see a pissed-looking Neji and Tenten, with a fainted Naruto on the ground, and Ino and Shikamaru standing by the side.

The three of them blinked, then sighed, thinking of the same sentence, _baka Naruto…_

While Ino and Sakura settled on the couch to talk, along with Shikamaru, Sasuke remained leaning on the wall, while Hinata walked over to Naruto, trying to shake him awake.

"Naru-kun! Naru-kun!"

Naruto groggily opened his eyes, and saw Hinata smiling at him.

"Hina-chan!" He shot up and hugged Hinata as if she would run away.

"When did you get here?" Naruto asked once he released Hinata from his body-crushing hug.

"Just a moment ago, with Sasuke-san and Sakura-chan. Naru-kun, what did you do this time? Tenten-chan doesn't go all out even when angered, to this extent…" Hinata trailed off as she examined Naruto's injuries.

"Well…ahaha," Naruto peeked a glance towards the culprits, who in turn, glared back at him. He leaned forward to Hinata instead, whispering in her ears, afraid that Neji and Tenten might bash him up again if he was just to say, "Well, your cousin and good friend overheard me telling Baa-chan that I saw the two of them kissing, and they took the chance to torture me to this extent."

Hinata widened her eyes and giggled when Naruto finished. She found it just so lovable whenever Naruto accidentally angers people, especially Tenten.

Tsunade eyed the couple from her desk. She was still finding it incredible that Naruto and Hinata managed to get together, and even more so that Hinata no longer stutters nor is shy anymore. _Oh well, _she thought as Naruto and Hinata went to sit on the couch too, _'Love does incredible things', or so they say._

And then, in came Kiba, Shino, Chouji and Lee, along with Anko, Asuma and Kurenai. Tsunade grinned and yelled, "Alright! Everyone's here, first, let me clarify that Anko is temporarily taking over Team Gai as the sensei, as Gai is currently out on a Rank S mission,"

A groan from Lee, "NO! GAI-SENSEI!" with streams of tears rolling down his face, interrupted the Godaime in the middle of her speech, and a vein popped out on her forehead.

"As I was sayin-"

"NOOOOOOOOOO! GAI-SENSEI! OUR YOUTHFUL SPIRIT!"

Another vein.

"Lee-"

"GAI-SENSEEEEEEEEEEI!"

Everyone stood back as they sensed the increasing amount of angry aura erupting from Tsunade, whose eyebrows were twitching non-stop, with a number of veins already popping out from her forehead. Her desk, where her hands were clutching on so tightly, snapped under her strong metal-like grip as she stood up, and everyone else except Lee, who was still wailing, gulped and stood another step back.

"LEE!!" it seemed like an angry roar from a demoness from hell.

Lee, who finally, finally noticed, stopped his wailing, and stared at the towering Godaime. He gulped.

"Y-yes, Godaime-s-sama?" (inserts puppy look from Puss In Boots from Shrek on Lee's face)

And suddenly, a man holding up a book of "IchaIchaParadise" walked in absentmindedly, while everyone turned to face him. He blinked and kept away his book.

"Did I just miss something?"

Tsunade's last line of patience and saneness snapped.

"URRRRRRRRRGH!!"

Everyone ran out of the room just in time, including Lee and Kakashi, and they sweatdropped at the mess the Godaime made. She had blasted the whole room, bits and pieces flying everywhere, including the door which everyone had used to escape, falling with a **THUMP! **on the floor. Everyone sweatdropped.

They can see the Godaime, with the door destroyed and all, still trying to destroy more stuff, and Shizune was around her, restraining her from moving at all.

When Shizune had finally managed to calm Tsunade down, they had to move to another room to discuss what the Godaime had been trying to say earlier, before being interrupted by Lee and Kakashi. Still with some little veins popping, Tsunade continued.

"As I was saying, before I got interrupted by some people," she stopped and glared at the two guilty culprits, "Anko is going to take over Team Gai temporarily. And now, I'm going to issue the mission everyone is here for." Tsunade stopped and 'arhem'-ed.

"This special mission has no ranks, but needs sixteen people exactly; Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and Anko. And this misson is issued by me, the Godaime," Tsunade closed her eyes and breathed in.

"I order the sixteen of you to go on the 3-day KonohaCruises trip that is heading towards the abandoned Islands of Paradise, and stay there for a week in the 5-star NinjaHotels. Is this clear?"

Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Chouji, Tenten, Lee and Kurenai blinked, Sasuke, Shino, Neji, Kakashi and Asuma made no movement, Sakura and Ino squealed, Shikamaru sighed and Anko smirked.

The next moment, was chaos.

Naruto started running around the room tearing at his hair screaming "Holy!", Sakura was still squealing with Ino, Sasuke muttered "Dobe.", Hinata and Kurenai sighed, Kiba and Tenten started to blink rapidly, Shino told his bugs to be careful of mad people around him during the 'mission', Shikamaru muttered "Troublesome…", Chouji was drooling all over the place, thinking of the food on the cruise, Neji made no movement, Lee was in DreamLand, Kakashi took out his perverted book to read, Asuma took out his cigarette to smoke and Anko remained smirking.

Tsunade and Shizune sighed.

"QUIET!" the Godaime's voice boomed. Everyone fell silent. Tsunade rubbed her temples tiredly, and continued.

"You'll all be leaving at 5pm this evening. Meet at the Konoha Port at 4pm, where I'll be giving out the tickets, clear?"

"Tsunade-sama," Neji started.

"Yes?"

"…what, exactly, is the purpose of this special mission?"

Tsunade sighed again. She didn't really get how Neji can be so dense at times.

"If I didn't make this a mission, probably only half of you would be going. Or so to say, at least I know you and the Uchiha won't be going,"

Everyone blinked. And all was chaos again.

"YAYS! WE'RE HAVING A VACATION!"

"THANK YOU, TSUNADE-SHISHOU!"

"This is madness…"

"…"

"OH. MY. GOD."

Instead of shouting over the chaotic nonsense, this time, the Godaime let them quieten down by themselves, which took around 20 minutes. And when it was finally peaceful again, Tsunade spoke once more.

"So, is everything clear? And oh, yes, as I had said, this is a special mission issued by me, so be prepared to suffer dire consequences if you don't turn up. Treat this like a mission if you want,"

"…" came Sasuke's, Neji's and Shino's response.

"Tsunade-shishou,"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Why are you suddenly treating us to a vacation and all?"

This piqued everyone's interests, and they looked at Tsunade.

"Well…it's a long story. Recently, Konoha's bond with Suna has grown stronger than ever before, and just as a gratitude for saving them during the previous Rank S mission Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai and Anko had undergone, they gave me a great, big amount of money to spend," she recounted.

Everyone sweatdropped. Tsunade should had meant, '…gave Konoha a great, big amount of money to spend," not her. But, oh well.

"So…Shizune reckoned that I would have probably spent all the money on my precious sake, so she suggested that I give some of it to the recent ninjas that had been on tough missions. Thus, you sixteen. But again I reckoned that people like Sasuke and Neji wouldn't give themselves a break, and so, this special mission," Tsunade finished. Everyone nodded. Sasuke and Neji glared.

"It's all clear? Now go and pack your bags, and meet at the Konoha Port at 4pm."

"Hai," and with some grumbles, some squeals, and poofs, everyone disappeared.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Tsunade tapped her foot irritably. It was almost reaching 4.20pm, and one person wasn't there at the port yet.

And, when he finally strolled into view leisurely, as if he was an hour early, reading the perverted book of his yet again, Tsunade almost launched on him, wanting to strangle him. _Good thing for Shizune and her restraints, _thought the rest, as they saw how Kakashi had been saved by Shizune for the second time that day.

Kakashi sweatdropped.

When Tsunade had simmered down, she gave everyone their tickets; 1 for the KonohaCruises, 1 for the NinjaHotels at the Islands of Paradise.

And following that, they boarded the grand KonohaCruises, waving bye at the Godaime and her apprentice.

The job of looking after the kids had been thrusted at rather hastily to Kakashi, Anko, Asuma and Kurenai by Tsunade, who didn't really trust the twelve kids could actually take care of themselves and make a mess of the whole entire ship.

So now, the four adults were leading the twelve to their respective cabins, but they stopped at the lobby due to a problem. A real complex problem.

"The Godaime didn't sort out who were going into which cabins…"

Some winced while some squealed, the drum of pending doom rolled.

Kakashi grinned as he thought of a brilliant idea. "We would have let you guys chose who you want to bunk with, but sadly, it would only result in girls with girls and boys with boys. What's the fun in that? I suggest we draw lots for this. Since there are eight cabins, two people would share one cabin, alright?"

His sentence resulted in gasps and giggles and grunts. And finally, it was agreed that they would draw lots. They took a random piece of paper, tore it into sixteen identical pieces and wrote the different cabin numbers on it.

And comes the drum roll…

Naruto went first, and he picked a piece of paper from Kakashi's outstretched hand. He closed his eyes and slowly peeked at the paper. "08139!" he announced happily.

Next, Naruto ushered his girlfriend to pick the paper, wanting her to pick 08139 too. Hinata chuckled, and picked a piece of paper. She had actually taken the one that was 09052, but Kakashi moved his hand slightly when he saw that.

"08139," Hinata smiled.

"YAYS! I'm in the same cabin as Hina-chan! Yay!" Naruto cheered on like a little child, while Hinata was smiling all the way.

"Next?" Kakashi grinned under his mask.

Sakura went up. "09050," she stated. Then, Sasuke. "09052," he said. Sakura "aww"-ed but Sasuke remained impassive, his hands in his pocket. Slowly, the people went up one by one.

Kiba had 09050, and he noticed that the Uchiha clenched his fist at this. He started praying for his own safety, mumbling, "Kami, save me!"

Shino went next, and he got 08137. Then, Chouji had 09051. Shikamaru had 09052, while Ino had 08140. Lee had 08137, Neji had 09051 and Tenten had 08140. And then, the senseis' turn.

Both Asuma and Kurenai had 09153, which left Kakashi and Anko to 08138.

"So, I've noticed you have an interesting way of twisting your hand when they took the paper, eh?" Anko smirked, "Something wrong with your hand?"

"Aha, no, fortunately," Kakashi chuckled.

"Uhm-hmm…" Anko licked the kunai she had just taken out from her pouch, "I'd better be careful then,"

"Sure," Kakashi waved her off with a grin.

When the noise over the choosing of the cabins finally ended, Kakashi 'arhem'-ed and raised his hand up for attention.

"Eh…so, it'll be Shino and Lee in 08137, me and Anko in 08138, Naruto and Hinata in 08139, Tenten and Ino in 08140, Sakura and Kiba in 09050, Neji and Chouji in 09051, Shikamaru and Sasuke in 09052, and Asuma and Kurenai in 09153,"

And, again, some groaned while some squealed, mainly Naruto still overjoyed that he was in the same cabin as Hinata. And, when it died down again, Kakashi passed each of them their own cabin keys, cards, actually, and sent them off to their own cabins to put down their luggages and pack a bit, and meet back in the lobby in around an hour's time.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

08137

"Uhrms, Shino-san?"

"…"

"Shino-san?" Lee spoke a bit more loudly.

Shino was bent over his finger, talking to one of the bug resting on it. "…remember, be very careful…eyebrows…especially bowl cuts…" he muttered incoherently.

"Shino…san?"

Shino was still ignoring the bushy eyebrows beside him, seemingly preferring his bugs over Lee anytime. Lee eyed him suspiciously, but stopped trying to call him afterwards, seeing that it was all futile.

_Ah well, _Lee thought, _Maybe he is just shy! _

"Err…what do you want to do in this free hour? Anything? Suggestions?"

"…"

Lee shifted uncomfortably on his bed.

"Err…never mind, then. I'll be going out for some air, okay?"

"…"

Lee quickly shuffled out of the room and shuddered.

"This Shino is scary…" he thought aloud, "I'll go find Tenten and chat! She'll definitely be bored with Ino-san anyways," he beamed, and left for Tenten's room.

"See, now you know why the people around me are mad…" Shino continued muttering to that one bug sitting on his finger.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

08138

Silence filled the atmosphere as Kakashi laid on his bed, reading his IchaIchaParadise once again, and Anko sitting on her bed, swinging her kunai around with a finger absentmindedly.

"Kaakaashii…" Anko dawdled.

"Hn?" the silver-haired ninja raised an eyebrow in apprehension, eyes still on his book.

Anko licked her kunai once more before she went over to sit on Kakashi's bed, only around a metre apart, and whispered, "I'm bored."

"Well," Kakashi started as he flipped a page, "I can't help it if you're bored."

"Geez, you're no fun. And to think you purposely made me end up with you in the same cabin…" Anko started whining. And Kakashi raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

"I didn't know you were the type to whine,"

"When I'm bored, yes,"

Kakashi sighed and closed his book, putting it aside on the table next to his bed. "And, what exactly am I supposed to do to humour you, miss?"

Anko clapped her hands in glee, like a little child being offered a lollipop.

"Well…seriously? I have no idea," and she grinned.

Kakashi sighed again and scratched at his hair.

"Oooh wait! I have an idea," she smiled yet again.

Kakashi shot her a quizzical look.

"If I may have the honours?" Anko did a pretend bow.

"For?"

"One of the few people who can see the entire of your face?"

Kakashi widened his eyes in surprise at first, before relaxing again.

"What for?"

"Well…I don't know. To see if you're handsome? To see how your nose and mouth looks like? To-"

"Okay, okay I get your point," Kakashi interrupted.

"Sooooo…" Anko stared at Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed for the third time in front of Anko, and nodded slightly when Anko made movements to pull down his mask.

And he wasn't all that surprised to hear a small gasp emitted from Anko. He smirked.

"Surprise?"

Anko merely nodded, temporarily losing her ability to speak.

"Yo-wha-urrgh-why the hell do you hide that…that hell of a face behind your mask?" said Anko, when she regained her ability to speak.

Kakashi shrugged.

"Who knows?" and he grinned.

Anko sighed irritably and she stared into Kakashi's face again. Before she knew it…she was lying on top of the silver-haired ninja, his tongue licking her lips, pleading her for entrance into her mouth, and she complied obediently, placing her hands around him, their tongues playing with each other.

When they finally got up from their kiss, both were acting as if everything was normal.

"You pulled me down, didn't you?"

Kakashi smirked.

"Who was the one who kept staring at me? Especially at my mouth? Don't deny it, you were thinking about how kissable my lips were. I was merely making your thoughts come true."

Anko seemed to glare at him for a while, before muttering, "Fine,"

And the victorious Kakashi smirked once more.

"You know, you tasted pretty good,"

"Thanks," Anko replied.

"Now would you comply with my request, since I've complied yours?"

And Anko smirked.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

08139

Hinata smiled at the sleeping figure of Naruto on her lap, stroking his wild, blonde hair gently. Naruto stirred, and muttered a 'Hina-chan! Hina-chan! …mmm…Aishiteru…'

Hinata chuckled at this, and bent over her boyfriend's sleeping form, pecking him on the lips. It seemed to have reached Naruto in his dreams too, for he muttered a 'Hina-chan…' before going into a completely deep sleep with no more stirrings or mutterings, but soft snorings.

Giggling softly, Hinata resumed her stroking of Naruto's hair, smiling at the serene atmosphere around them. She had the intuition deep in her heart that days like this would come more often, and she hoped that her intuition would never, ever break, as she herself, started to fall asleep too, leaning on Naruto's shoulder as she slumped down from her upright position.

The couple slept on peacefully.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

08140

Squeals. And more squeals.

"Ino, dammit, stop your high squealing would you? People are trying to get some sleep here, if you can't see," Tenten rolled her eyes and commented sarcastically.

"Oops, sorry," Ino giggled. And giggled some more.

Tenten groaned and stuffed herself under the pillow, trying to block some of the noise.

"Ino!!"

"Oh, ahahaha, sorry, sorry!" Ino laughed again, tears forming in her eyes.

Tenten grumbled.

"Is me and Neji getting together really funny?"

"Oh…oh, nono, oh…hahaha!" Ino grabbed onto the nearest object near her, her legs, wobbly from laughter, unable to support herself.

Tenten rolled her eyes again.

"Fine, fine! You want the whole story right? Fine! Just stop laughi-INO! STOP LAUGHING!"

For Ino had actually fallen on the floor, unable to use her hands anymore either it seemed, and was banging the floor with her left hand, rolling around the floor, laughing like a maniac, and using her right hand to clutch her aching stomach.

"O-oh m-my god! This i-is s-so…H-HAHAHA!"

And she banged the floor some more.

"Oh my god I c-can't b-breath! O-oww! M-my stomach h-hurts!"

More tears formed in her eyes. She laughed some more, clutching her stomach tighter.

Tenten folded her arms and returned to her former position; stuffing herself under the pillow to block out the noise. Her eyes turned to slits upon hearing more laughter erupting from her friend who was rolling around on the floor, laughing so hard that she couldn't breath.

When the laughing finally ended, which was around half an hour later, Ino was sprawled across her bed, stomach completely sore from laughing, eyes completely red from the tears that had gushed out while she laughed so hard.

"Hahaha," Tenten mimicked her laugh sarcastically.

And Ino had no strength to retaliate back even the weakest comeback. She just lay there, sore from laughing so hard, air all squeezed out from her lungs.

"Okay, okay, fine, I'm sorry…would you please tell me the whole story?" Ino asked meekly.

Tenten glared at her one last time before complying.

"Fine. We were training as usual on our grounds, and there was this one moment where he was suddenly so close to me while he was attacking me, both of us just lost it. Okay?"

"Oh…okay, okay. That's it?"

"Yeahs,"

"Oh…"

Nothing more was said after a while.

"I'll just go and take a nap,"

"Yeah, sure, I need one too, to rest my sore stomach,"

"Hah. Serves you right," Tenten stuck out her tongue at Ino as she laid on her bed.

Ino rolled her eyes, and soon, both fell asleep.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

09050

Kiba gulped. Being alone in a cabin room with the Uchiha's girlfriend wasn't a really good idea. Especially not when the Uchiha himself had glared at Kiba so many times during the draw lots session at the lobby.

And yet, Sakura was there, yapping away, as if there's not a care in the world, while Kiba was fretting for his life.

_Kami, Kami, PLEASE SAVE ME! _He thought, with an immediate sense of urgency. Kiba could already feel himself being slowly ripped into shreds, courtesy of Uchiha Sasuke, for just being in the same cabin as his girlfriend.

Kiba winced as Sakura continued yapping away to the air…

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

09051

Neji was there, sitting on his bed, closing his eyes, mediating.

While Chouji was on his bed, munching away at his potato chips that he had brought.

Ah, boys.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

09052

Shikamaru sighed yet again as he laid on his bed, arms behind his head.

"Look, Uchiha, it's no use fretting away like this,"

It earned a growl from Sasuke, who had been walking up and down the space they had in their cabin.

"I. Am. Not. Fretting."

Shikamaru raised his hands up in defence.

"Woah, relax."

And back went Sasuke to his routine, and Shikamaru to daydreaming.

And soon, Shikamaru piped up again, unable to just watch the frantic Sasuke pace up and down anymore, feeling his head getting giddy from observing him.

"Uchiha,"

Sasuke grunted.

"Just go and check on your girlfriend, dammit,"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the Nara genius, but said nothing. He stopped his pacing and sat on his bed instead, as though he didn't hear Shikamaru at all.

"My glares at Inuzuka would had frightened him enough. Plus, Sakura wouldn't just do anything with him. She's the discipline of the Godaime, remember?" Sasuke scowled slightly.

Shikamaru shrugged in response and leaned back on his arms once again.

"What about you?"

The lazy Nara, who had just closed his eyes a moment ago, opened his left eye to look at Sasuke as though he had gone insane.

"You…asked me a question?"

Sasuke did nothing but grunt.

"Err…what? What thing about me?" Shikamaru pretended, and acted confused, while Sasuke scowled once more and glared at him.

"You know very well what I'm talking about, Nara,"

And he did nothing but lean back on his arms and closed his eyes again, seeming to prefer ignoring Sasuke's question, but after a while, he answered back.

"It's the usual; me as her best friend, she, confiding her secrets in me,"

"Sure that's all? No progress?"

The Nara shook his head no, and sighed.

"This is all just so troublesome…and I thought it was all fine as she was, at first, madly in love with you. Urgh, troublesome women,"

And Sasuke nodded with him.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

09050

Kiba was still wincing while Sakura yapped, and all of a sudden she stopped. Kiba seemed to get out of his trance of muttering, 'Kami, Kami, save me!' and stared at Sakura, who was staring into space.

"AH-CHOO!"

The Inuzuka sweatdropped as Sakura rubbed at her red nose, and was muttering, "Oh god...someone said something bad about me behind my back! I must be more precautious…" and continued her blabbering, while Kiba returned to muttering, "Kami, Kami, save me!"

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

08140

"AH-CHOO!"

Tenten rubbed at her eyes, just awoken by her companion's loud sneeze.

"Ino?" Tenten stifled her yawn, "What the heck? You having a cold?"

Ino shook her head vigorously, dabbing a piece of tissue at her nose, and Tenten could only catch a few phrases from what she was saying.

"Damn…talking bad behind…oh god…"

And Tenten sweatdropped.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

09053

Asuma was smoking on his cigarette, reading the newspaper, lounging on the couch instead of his bed, and Kurenai was just sitting on her bed.

Silence filled the atmosphere around them and neither spoke a single word.

Ah, the most peaceful and serene cabin of all.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

END : CHAPTER 2 :

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A/N : Nice? Hope it was hilarious (: more to come in Chapter 3! Rushed this up, and personally, I was also laughing so hard that tears came into my eyes at the Ino part xD hahas. Okkays…about the Sasuke and Shikamaru OOC part, it'll be explained in later chapters as well :D REVIEWS PLS! x)


	3. Day One on KonohaCruises

Disclaimer :: When I finally own Naruto, green pigs will fly in the sky (:

A/N : Whee! Here comes the third chpt (: thks niwichan2468 for the 2 reviews! Big one for Si Li a.k.a NightX (: & Geneva a.k.a geneva xD hahas thks all . ENJOY! ;D

_The Daily Happenings of Konoha_

_Chpt 3 – Day One on KonohaCruises_

_By :: SleepyDreamGirl_

"Everyone's here?"

Heads turned and looked around to confirm the statement, only to see a masked-clad, silver-haired ninja strolling in leisurely, reading a red book with the words "IchaIcha Paradise" etched on it.

Kakashi noticed both glares and stares at him all of a sudden, and looked up from his book, raising his right hand and saying, "Yo!"

Everyone sighed almost instantaneously.

"Gomen, gomen, I was sidetracked trying to help an old lady with-"

"DON'T LIE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled, cutting their sensei off.

Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Ah, hai, hai, anyways…"

The chatter among the ninjas gathered at the lobby quietened, to hear what Kakashi was saying.

"First of all, do you guys want to move as a big group or break into small groups to enjoy the ship's activities?"

A murmur broke out, and it was agreed that moving as small groups would be better.

"Then, next, here's the schedules and activities of the ship. I'll be giving each of you one of it, and you can all go explore the ship or something. We'll be meeting again for breakfast tomorrow at the 12th floor at 8am. All clear?"

Nods from everyone answered Kakashi's question, and they began to split up, while some returned to their rooms, not wanting to do anything at all.

In a moment's time, the lobby was cleared of the sixteen ninjas.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Hinata?"

"…"

"Hinata!"

"Ah! Hai?"

Ino sighed.

"It's perfectly alright for you to go with Naruto instead of us, you know?"

Hinata blinked, then shook her head and smiled.

"I really do want to spend more time with the three of you, Ino-san. Naru-kun might be whining, but I'll have my own ways of soothing him down,"

Ino, Sakura and Tenten laughed.

"Alright then. C'mon! Let's head for the Chinese restaurant first. I'm starving!" Ino grinned.

The three of them nodded and they left for the restaurant.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Naruto whined once more.

"Hina-chan…"

A blink.

"Hina-chan…!" he started wailing more loudly.

And Lee blinked again.

"Naruto…san? Daijoubu?"

Naruto sniffed.

"Hina-chan's not here! She's not here!" he started crying.

Lee sweatdropped as Naruto started to bawl his eyes off.

_Ah, _Lee thought, as Naruto began to ramble to himself, _the youth of love sure is powerful…_

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Neh, Shino."

"…mad eyebrows, weird bowl cut, really, do be aware…"

Kiba rolled his eyes at his teammate.

"Shino!"

The said person was still muttering to his single, lone bug, standing at the tip of his finger, totally ignoring Kiba.

Kiba sighed and decided it was useless, deciding where to go instead of asking Shino for opinions. Really, he should had known so much better than stroll around the ship with his bug loving teammate, who, apparently, rather prefers talking to his bugs than any humans.

He finally decided to just go back to his room after all.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

The Hyuuga was in his room mediating.

The Uchiha was in his room sulking. Yes, sulking.

This tells you of how much alike ice cubes can get.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Chouji gobbled down his food as usual. And Shikamaru was just daydreaming, staring into blank air, slowly chewing his first piece of meat, while Chouji was on his fifteenth.

"Shikamaru," Chouji started, after finishing off his fifteenth piece of meat.

"Hn?" the Nara shot the Akimichi a lazy look.

"When are you going to take the initiative?"

"I don't know. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, month, year. Forever? Or maybe, never,"

Chouji put his fork down with a loud clank, and sighed.

"Buddy. Just do it. Don't fear the inevitable,"

Shikamaru gave Chouji a quizzical look, before finally finishing his first piece of meat.

"I don't fear the inevitable. I just don't want to break our friendship. We had been best friends since young, remember?"

Chouji frowned slightly, but said nothing afterwards. They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"So…Hina-chan, you first,"

"Eh? Ah, hai."

The girls had reached the Chinese restaurant a few moments ago, and had been bored, waiting for the dishes to arrive. Instead, they chose to play a game of some sort; the person who had been chosen has to answer all the questions the other three poses her, truthfully.

"Okay. I'll ask you first. Was is something Naruto did or just being his girlfriend gave you confidence over time and you stopped stuttering all together?" Ino chuckled.

Hinata blinked, turning slightly pink.

"Something…he did," she muttered.

"Ooo! Is that so?" Ino laughed even harder.

Hinata turned even redder, and hid her small, petite face under her long bangs.

"Ino! Stop embarrassing poor Hinata-chan! Okay, it's my turn!" Sakura grinned, "Here's mine; how did you ever tame him when he's into one of his whines? Speaking of which, did you give him the habit of whining?"

Hinata smiled, almost devilishly, as she answered.

"Well…I do have my own ways, and yes, I did give him the habit of whining,"

Sakura stared at Hinata, mouth slightly agape. The thing that Naruto did definitely had a huge impact on the once shy Hyuuga heiress.

"Me next, me next!" Tenten piped up, "Ino and Sakura had surely forgotten to ask you this. How exactly did you get together with Naruto, 6 months ago?"

Ino and Sakura stared at Tenten in excitement. Yes! They had really forgotten to ask Hinata about it, seeing how she and Naruto had been ever so secretive about it since they got together.

Hinata turned slightly pink again, but unabashedly, she began to talk about it.

"Well…"

_.FlashBack._

_Hinata was trudging home in the slight drizzle, enjoying the coldness the rain was giving her, splashing onto her warm skin. She shivered slightly, getting colder and colder by each passing minute, but still, was enjoying the drizzle._

_She stopped by the park, where the playground was, where her childhood memories were locked in. She sat on one of the swings, and imagined a blonde-haired whiskered kid on the swing besides hers, laughing happily as he swung._

_She smiled sadly as she stopped her slight swinging. Naruto had been a dream far beyond her since young, and she knew it. She wasn't craving for him, but instead, needing him. He was just like the light that could brighten up her world, leading her out of the darkness she had been living in._

_She sighed and kicked the ground softly. She didn't really mind not being with Naruto, as long as he was happy, she would be happy. But now…the seemingly endless, painful days were increasing, and she couldn't really hold on much longer. She needed a shoulder, to break down and cry on._

_The girl with the pearly white eyes bit her lips, venting her slight frustration by clenching her fist round the metal chain that connected the swing to the structure. _

_And, at that moment, she heard footsteps nearing the playground._

_Before she could quickly get off and hop out of sight, the person Hinata heard had reached the playground already, standing by the other swing._

_She let out a small gasp, her bangs sticking to her face due to the drizzle._

_The boy she was just thinking about was standing there, a shocked look on his face. He hadn't really expected anyone to be at the playground, much less the shy Hinata._

"_Hina…ta?"_

"_Na-naruto-kun!" she squeaked timidly, stepping back._

"_Ah…konichiwa,"_

"_K-konic-chiwa…"_

_Naruto frowned slightly. Hinata was still playing with her fingers, looking downcast on to the floor. Ever since he had racked his brains and found out that Hinata was the one he saw dancing on the water under the moonlight, he had reckoned that Hinata wasn't shy at all; at least not on the inside. Besides that, he felt a deep longing for her in his heart, the Hyuuga heiress, like the wind, like freedom to him._

"_You want to swing with me?"_

_Hinata looked up in surprise. She was sure she heard wrongly, though. Nevertheless, staring into Naruto's eyes confirmed that she hadn't heard wrongly, but it was a mistake to look into his eyes. She was caught, way deep down in those sapphire orbs._

_After being in a moment's of trance, Hinata shook her head a few times, blinking, and managed to stop staring into the endless mist of confusion, pain and hurt in Naruto._

_She quickly got on to the swing that she was sitting on before Naruto came, and Naruto sat on the swing besides hers._

"_Hinata?" Naruto spoke softly._

"_H-hai?"_

_Naruto bit his lips tentatively._

"_It was you dancing on the waters that night, right?"_

_Hinata's heart pounced a beat, and started to increase rapidly._

"_A-ano…h-hai…"_

_Naruto grinned. And he got off his swing, walked over to the increasing-red-faced Hinata and gave her a swift peck on the forehead._

_Just the close proximity alone was enough to make Hinata unconscious for a week. Just touching Naruto a little bit is enough to make Hinata unconscious for a few weeks._

_A kiss from Naruto to her forehead?_

_Good lord. She wouldn't be able to wake up until a year is over._

_But, Naruto caught her just before she fainted. And right before she was about to be unconscious, that slight instant, that few seconds, Naruto whispered in her ears._

"_If you're going to faint just like that, you wouldn't be able to endure the rest of what I'll be giving you in the future,"_

_Hinata's heart pounded louder than ever before. She was sure that it'd be exploding out from her chest any moment soon. She could feel it so hard against her ribcage, it felt so sore._

_But...she managed to regain her composure. She didn't faint after all. She remained strong-willed. She softly pulled the amused Naruto, who was still holding on to her, left hand behind her head, right hand behind her body, and kissed him._

_Straight on the mouth._

_The blonde-haired, earlier on, smug, boy, made a strange gurgling noise, caught unexpected in Hinata's kiss. Yet, when they broke apart for the atrocious air they need to breathe in to survive, Naruto was smirking._

"_You wouldn't consider for more now, would you?"_

_And for, maybe, the first time in her life, Hinata didn't stutter._

"_Oh. I would, actually,"_

_Thus, under the protection of the cold rain that splashed on to them, the link that connects the two souls, they kissed each other endlessly for around half an hour, roaming each other's mouth, delighting in what they found._

_They had found the other half of their souls, the person to spend their lives with. Finding the imperfect person, and accepting that person perfectly. They found love that day._

_When they finally broke apart once more, Naruto was hugging Hinata tightly, like she was his life. Hinata was doing likewise, smiling like an angel._

_And once more, Naruto whispered to her under the drizzle that was slowly letting up._

"_I love you, Hinata. You will always be my life."_

_Hinata responded the only way she could; cuddling up to Naruto and trailing kisses over him. They both chuckled together._

_.End FlashBack._

Hinata was smiling serenely when she finished her long story, while Ino, Sakura and Tenten blinked, stared, and squealed like maniacs.

"OH MY GOD! Hinata!"

"I can't believe-no-GOSH!"

"…"

Hinata laughed, her eyes twinkling, as though scheming of something. _God, _the three of them thought, _we're so going to kill Naruto for making Hinata sound so evil at times._

"Neh, it's my turn to chose, right?" Hinata suddenly said.

Ino nodded, and Hinata had a sort of a small smirk on her face, and she sweatdropped.

"Then…Sakura-san,"

Sakura started squealing for no apparent reasons.

"Okay, okay, no problem!" she grinned.

"Then…I'll ask first," Hinata smiled, "Why, of all the boys you could choose from, did you choose Sasuke-san?"

And all Sakura did was to stare at Hinata like she was some sort of an antique, not knowing what was likable about the Sasuke. THE. UCHIHA. SASUKE.

"Hinata! Of course it would be his looks, character, coolness, the way he acts around people, being an ice cube-"

Hinata, Tenten and Ino sweatdropped at this point. Likable…for being an ice cube? They were sure that Sakura had lost her sanity.

"-his piercing eyes, his handsome feautures…"

Sakura blabbered on for around 20 minutes, before noticing that the dishes had long arrived and that Hinata, Ino and Tenten had started eating without her.

"Hey!" she grumbled.

They laughed heartily afterwards, and Ino asked her the next question.

"How did you give Sasuke his famous sulk that replaced his famous smirk?"

Sakura immediately giggled and clutched her stomach, a bit sore from all the laughing.

"Oh-oh, that!" she half-laughed, half-said, tears forming in her eyes, "He's the type of boyfriend that goes all sour and overprotective whenever I just talk to other boys, except for Naruto of course, and he began to sulk when he knew that he couldn't really control who I talk to, especially when life is definitely boring when an ice cube is all I can talk to,"

The gang of four chuckled together for a while, before Tenten asked her final question.

"As yet again, though I cannot believe that Hinata forgot, how exactly did you get together with Sasuke, a year ago?"

Ino gasped at Tenten, and hit her own head for forgetting it once again, while Hinata merely smiled and said nothing at all.

Sakura chuckled and replied.

"Ahah, well, about that…"

_.FlashBack._

"_Neh…Sasuke-kun…"_

_A grunt._

"_Can you at least reply with words?"_

"_Hn,"_

"_More than one word?"_

"…"

"_Fine," Sakura snorted._

_Sasuke eyed the pink-haired girl at the corner of his eyes. And just at that instant, Sakura turned over, and saw Sasuke looking at her, in her direction._

"_What?"_

_Instead of replying, Sasuke turned away and said nothing. A tense silence hung between them, before Sakura continued._

"_You were looking at me,"_

"…"

_Unable to bear it no more, Sakura tackled Sasuke from where they were sitting, high up in one of the branches of the tree, and fortunately, Sasuke managed to keep his balance, preventing the both of them from falling onto the ground below._

"_What was that for?" Sasuke growled._

_Sakura merely smirked at the Uchiha, increasing Sasuke's irritation level._

"_That, was for ignoring me,"_

_The boy rolled his eyes at the girl._

"_I'm going to have payback for that,"_

"_Try it if you dare," Sakura challenged._

"_You said it,"_

_And Sasuke grabbed the surprised Sakura closer to him, kissing her before she could resist. His tongue practically begging her to open her mouth was too tempting to resist, and she did it. Following which, was their sweet moment of exploring each other's mouth, Sakura noting that Sasuke had a strange taste of tomato, and they fell._

_Plummeted from the branch to the ground below, because they were so careless to actually kiss in a branch and focusing only on the other person instead of their surroundings._

"_Oof!"_

_Sakura picked herself up from Sasuke sheepishly, muttering an 'I'm really sorry,' and helping Sasuke up, who was swearing softly, rubbing his sore butt._

_Maybe it was just Sakura that had a time-lag, for she screamed out like a madman a few minutes later, the full impact of the situation crushing down on her._

_The Uchiha Sasuke just kissed her, and she didn't resist. Oh, god._

_She continued screaming, and only stopped when Sasuke covered her mouth with his yet again, and she didn't resist once again._

_They seemed to continue this cycle for a few times before Sakura actually stopped screaming and asked Sasuke a question._

"_For just how long are you going to continue this and take advantage of me?"_

_Sasuke shrugged._

"_Maybe forever, if you keep screaming,"_

_Sakura rolled her eyes. Typical Uchiha. And suddenly, she felt something drop on to her hand, and looked down only to see a piece of paper. And when she looked up again, she could only see the back of Sasuke facing her, walking away, right hand up as to say 'Bye,' while the left hand stayed in his pocket._

_The pink-haired girl raised an eyebrow before opening the folded piece of paper._

Sakura,

Would you have the honour of being the mother of the next generation of Uchihas?

-Sasuke

_Sakura's face immediately turned as red as a tomato as she cursed at the Uchiha._

_.End FlashBack._

Ino was laughing like hell, Hinata was trying to hide her smile while Tenten was smirking at Sakura, whose face turned a little bit pink.

"Okay, fine, stop laughing already. My turn to choose! Ino," Sakura grinned, "I'll ask first. Who exactly are you crushing on?"

Ino, surprised, stared at her, mouth opening as though wanting to speak, but closing again soon after.

"I-no one-oh, alright," she sighed, "I wouldn't say it's a crush though,"

"Not a crush? C'mon Ino, it's already so obvious!"

The said girl raised a quizzical eyebrow at Sakura, while Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Almost everyone knows that you like Shikamaru, alright?"

Ino only bit her lips and shook her head, slowly.

"No…I mean, I may be obvious, but it's simply not a crush. My growing feeling for him is only that of a friend. I don't like him, not in that way. I love him as my best friend. But sometimes…just sometimes when I go over to his house or when he comes over to my house…I don't know. This confusing feeling pops out of nowhere. Yet I'm sure it's not a crush, my heart doesn't pound furiously at least,"

Ino and Sakura sighed together, while Hinata and Tenten blinked.

"Erhms. Shoo bad atmosphere. My turn!" Tenten beamed, "Are you willing to have a bet with me? You're going to have a boyfriend in the following 2 months; if not, you're going to remain a spinster your whole life! If you don't want to say yes to this bet…it means you're a chicken coward!"

"What sort of a question is that?" Ino glared.

"Hey, chill, it's still a question, yes?" Tenten laughed, "So…yes or no?"

"Yes, of course! I'm not just going to let this slide, being called a coward," Ino glowered.

Tenten started to chuckle to herself after that, while Hinata proceeded to ask her a question.

"Well…what animal do you like?"

"Deer!" Ino answered almost instantaneously, while the other three sweatdropped. _She definitely loves Shikamaru, _they thought.

"Okay now! Tenten's turn!" Ino beamed, "Me first. What's so likable in an ice cube like Neji?"

Tenten sweatdropped.

"Hey! He's not always an ice cube. Maybe only in front of others…"

"Oooo! That means he's…something else, when in front of you, huh?" Ino winked and laughed while Tenten blushed furiously.

"Shut it!" she growled menacingly.

"Oh, okay, relax girl!" Ino still laughed.

"Alright, alright. Chill, Tenten. My turn! Is Neji ever romantic? He seems like such an…introvert?" Sakura questioned.

"Ah, well…he is romantic at times. Though even I didn't expect it,"

Sakura chuckled softly.

"Okay, Tenten-san, here's the last question. What do you think of Neji-nii-san?"

Tenten blinked. And then, she smiled.

"Well. He's definitely a bit of an introvert, but I love him for his stead strong character, his strong will, and almost everything else about him. Maybe even the point of him being an ice cube,"

Sakura laughed and hi-fived Tenten while Ino shook her head and sighed, sadly. Hinata just chuckled and they stopped their little game soon after, instead, concentrating on eating their dinner and having small conversations on the way.

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Naruto smiled and hugged Hinata tightly. She had returned to her room after finishing her dinner with the girls, deciding that Naruto probably couldn't wait much longer for her, and had found the blonde-haired boy in their room, eyes lighting up at the sight of her entering their cabin.

"Neh, Hina-chan. I missed you so much,"

Hinata chuckled and hit her boyfriend lightly on the head.

"It's only been a few hours, silly,"

"But it seemed like an eternity to me! Are you so sure that it's only been a few hours?" Naruto whimpered.

"Well, no. I missed you too," she whispered, pecking Naruto on the lips.

And Naruto replied her, hungrily, with a kiss of his own, his hands playing with Hinata's slightly long hair. And, slowly, Naruto gently pushed Hinata down on the bed, where they were sitting, and they started exploring each other's mouths, like every other times.

When they finally finished this, around an hour later, it was already around 10pm. Both fatigued by the day's events, soon fell asleep; Naruto's arms wrapped protectively around Hinata, Hinata's small fists curled up against Naruto's heaving chest, their legs tangled together.

Ah, sweet love.

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END : CHAPTER 3 :

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A/N : WHEE! It's finished(: This chapter is dedicated to Si Li, my faithful reader & buddy:D Thks for contributing the part of Hinata's last question to Tenten, and Elaine, though I didn't ask for permission, for the part of "Accepting an imperfect person perfectly," ;) REVIEWS PLS xD


	4. Day Two on KonohaCruises

Disclaimer :: Ashley, my stuff toy red pig, will come alive when I own Naruto (:

A/N : a BIG thks to niwichan2468 & Si Li for being my faithful supporters! Even though I was hoping that I would had over 20 reviews when I reached Chpt.3, but NVMS! (: though a lil' depressed .. I'll still continue working hard for niwichan2468 & Si Li ;) ENJOY!

_The Daily Happenings of Konoha_

_Chpt 4 – Day Two on KonohaCruises_

_By :: SleepyDreamGirl_

Neji grunted. He turned away to a side, pushing the leg away, trying to get back his sleep, but to no avail as the leg came back on top of him again. He snarled mentally, but did nothing until a hand came flying over too.

"Tenten,"

A soft snore replied him in response, and Neji growled. He pried Tenten's hand and leg away from him, trying to get her to wake up all the while.

When she finally woke up, all she did was smile goofily at Neji with half-lidded eyes.

"Morning Neji,"

And the Hyuuga growled once more.

"Your hand. And leg."

The Weapon Mistress blinked at first, stared at Neji in confusion, and then gave him one of her famous 'ehehe' expressions.

"Ah…gomen!"

Neji slanted his eyes at her before sighing, pointing at the clock hanging on the wall, indicating the time. Tick, tock, tick…

"AHH! NEJI WE'RE FREAKING LATE!"

"Glad you know that,"

"Not…" Tenten pulled her clothes out of her luggage to change at this point, growling a bit, "helping!" and she made a mad dash to the bathroom as though Lee was behind her, forcing her to wear his famous green spandex.

Neji rolled his eyes but said nothing, quickly changing into his clothes in the bedroom, since nobody was there. When the two of them were finally ready, which was only 5 minutes later, they promptly set off for the 12th floor, where Kakashi arranged for all sixteen of them to meet.

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"…must be late because they're most probably kissing again! Oh my-"

Neji and Tenten approached the table where the loud blonde-haired ninja was, along with others who were slowly backing away from the dangerous pair, afraid of landing in the hospital.

"god..." Naruto finished lamely upon seeing everyone backing away, and the monstrous looks on the faces of Neji and Tenten, feeling a sudden sense of déjà vu. He started whimpering for Hinata, but it was really pure bad luck that she was in the restroom at that time.

"AHH! NO! PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME! HAVE MERCY, YOUR LORD!" Naruto ran around, screaming and yelling his head off, trying to avoid the attacks aimed at him by the Hyuuga and Weapon Mistress.

"I SWEAR IT WASN'T ME! I WAS JUST STATING ONE OF THE REASONS WHY YOU GUYS ARE LATE! BESIDES IT WAS INO WHO TOLD ME THAT CHOUJI AND TENTEN SWAPPED CABINS!"

Ino immediately raised her hands up in defence, shaking her head sadly, indicating with her right hand that poor Naruto had gone insane.

The loud-mouthed blonde scowled instantaneously at Ino, tears rolling down his face, mouthing a 'I-HATE-YOU!' to Ino, while all the girl did was stick her tongue out back at him.

When it was all over, Hinata attending to the injured Naruto who had bruises all over him, did Kakashi finally arrive, though nobody took much notice of his lateness, due to the seething Neji and Tenten.

"Was I too late? Everyone eaten already?"

Heads nodded, except for two. Kakashi sighed and scratched his head.

"I guess we'll just take some sandwhiches, Neji, Tenten,"

They nodded without any complaints, still glaring at the whining Naruto who was complaining to Hinata about her Neji-nii-san and how cruel he was, and how she must watch out for her future cousin-in-law.

Kakashi sweatdropped and 'arhem'-ed, successfully gaining everyone's attention as he spoke.

"Eh. Since we moved as small groups yesterday, we're going to move as one whole group today. And…" Kakashi stopped at this point, lazily flipping through what seemed like the schedule for the ship's activities that day before continuing, "Apparently, there was an interesting activity I noticed. A six-hour 'adventure game', for all ages. No, no backing out now, Asuma and Kurenai," Kakashi simply stated, like an order, without looking up while the said people looked at each other and sighed.

"Now…it's around 11am, yes? The game would be starting at 11.30am, so we should go there and register first. And no one's to say he doesn't want to play, because this is compulsory," Kakashi grinned.

"So, let's go?"

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Some of the girls squealed while some of the boys grunted. The prize for winning the game was a gigantic, enormous, cute and adorable teddy bear, and though the girls were really interested in it, the boys had not a single care in the world about it; the teddy bear could just suddenly come alive and say "I'm going to commit suicide!" and they wouldn't care at all.

And out of the blue, a booming voice blasted the entire of the 7th floor, rendering everyone quiet for the moment.

"Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for attending our special adventure quest this morning, and the crew staff wishes you a happy and enjoyable time playing! Alright now, enough of chitchats. Here are the rules! Firstly, no cheating. There will be ninja staffs watching over the game for any signs of cheating, and you'll be out of the game immediately when caught. Secondly, don't try and open the genjutsu you all will walk into once the game begins, because it's not a trap, but rather, part of the game. Thirdly, just follow the instructions as given by the person in charge of each level. The aim of this game is to clear all the levels first and get to the exit. Now, would each participant stand in front of their own gate number?"

The sudden noise level of shuffling feet increased, and there was much hustle and bustle before everyone was finally in front of their gate numbers.

"1…2…3…GO!"

To oncoming spectators, it looked like a bunch of survivors who haven't eaten for weeks making a mad dash towards a piece of meat. The crew staff sweatdropped. They had never expected the adventure game to be so popular. Hopefully, the participants wouldn't kill them after the game, though.

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The girl looked around in confusion. All was but a white blur around her, and the loud noise from the participants had suddenly faded away into the distance.

_Heh…genjutsu, huh? _Sakura smirked.

"Welcome to the first level!"

The pink-haired girl blinked. And she turned all around to try and find the source of the small squeak of a voice. She finally found it when she decided to look down, on the white floor.

"I'm your host for this level, Ashley," squeaked the miniature, 10cm high, apparently alive, red, pig stuff toy once more, "The rules are very simple. All you need to do is to grunt like a pig. Grunt better than me."

Sakura stared incredulously at Ashley as though it was an alien, mouth hanging open. Grunt…like a pig? Firstly it is completely insane and randomic, secondly, to have to win a pig in a grunting contest wasn't really appealing to her and thirdly, there was no way in **HELL **would she ever grunt like a pig.

She snorted at the very idea of it.

"Congratulations!" Ashley said, growing larger and larger until it was all round and had sprouted its once small wings, flying in mid-air, flapping softly, "You've passed! That quality of a snort was incredible! Please proceed on to Level 2 via the door ahead," the red pig used one of its wings to point at the direction of the magical appearing door.

Sakura could only stare at it, dumbfounded. She blindly walked towards the door, opened it, and went through it. She continued walking for a while more when she appeared on the other side, her mind still whirling with mixed and blurred emotions of what had just really happened.

_OH. GOD._

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"Noooo…!" the faint sound of a bloodcurdling scream reached the dog boy's ears. Following which, his keen and sharp ears picked up on some vulgarities yelled from the same person who had screamed a moment ago. He shook his head sadly, thinking about what had become of the world.

And that was when he noticed a dog, almost as big as himself, with red streaked ears and large droopy eyes, its stare fixed on Kiba intently. The Inuzuka sweatdropped.

"Welcome to the second level. I'm Yuuta, your host,"

Kiba nodded slightly to the dog, who was staring at him again.

"To pass this stage, you have to get through the obstacle course safely." Once the dog finished his sentence, suddenly, behind it, popped the magical obstacle course. Kiba gulped as he scanned through it; a small tiny piece of wood as a bridge over the hot boiling black tar, quicksands and swamps filled with crocodiles and sharks, exploding tags almost pasted everywhere…

"Oh. And you're not supposed to use any of your ninja skills at all. You're expected to dash through it and protect yourself with your bare hands. No ninja techniques, weapons whatsoever."

Kiba prayed to the God above for protection as he started screaming and running towards the course like a madman, muttering, "It's over it's over it's over it's over…" he took another deep breath in and then shouted, "IT'SOVERIT'SOVERIT'SOVEEER!" Yuuta sweatdropped as it saw Kiba screaming girlishly when he dropped from the small piece of wood towards the hot bubbling boiling tar below.

"Poor kid…" the dog shook its head sadly while sighing, "Ah well. It's not like there hadn't been such sacrifices before." he smiled instantaneously…

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"Inuzuka Kiba, disqualified!"

"Tch," Sasuke grunted impatiently.

"Welcome to the third level. I'm Louise," clucked the streaked blue hen, appearing in front of Sasuke, "I will now explain. In front of you, those 2 doors," the hen turned and pointed towards the 2 doors in front of Sasuke, "One is a door that tells the truth while the other is a door that tells lies. To pass the stage, you would need to enter the door that tells the truth. You are permitted to ask each of the door one question each, and decide which door you will enter. If you enter the wrong door, you will fall into a never-ending hole. Best of luck." And the hen disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared.

Sasuke, hands in pockets as usual, walked towards the 2 doors. A moment later, he was walking towards the next level he had to complete already.

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"Uzumaki Naruto, disqualified!"

Hinata gasped softly. _Naru-kun…I hope you're safe…_she frowned considerably. Before she had any more time to ponder over it though, a 'poof' alerted her to her senses.

"Welcome to the fourth level. I'm Sachiru, your host," the monkey bowed politely to Hinata, who bowed back in return.

"For this stage, you have play a game with me. May I remind you to be prepared, for it may cost your life."

Hinata blinked, and then gulped. "O-okkay. I a-am prepared…"

"Well then," the monkey grinned, "shall we start? Scissors-Paper-Stone!"

Out of sheer surprise upon hearing the name of a familiar game everyone knew, Hinata complied with a stone. And she stared at the monkey's hand, which resembled a twist, or the peace sign.

In other words, the scissors sign.

Hinata blinked profusely as Sachiru congratulated her on passing, pushing her towards the door to the next level.

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"Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Neji, disqualified!"

Tenten narrowed her eyes slightly and sighed. Out poof-ed a sheep, wool black as coal, seemingly appearing to be yawning.

"Welcome. Fifth level. Kei."

Tenten sweatdropped, watching the sheep stop talking for an instant as it yawned once more.

"There. Count. One thousand. Fall asleep no. Count finish yes," the sheep pointed towards a great many sheep leaping over the fence, before immediately falling asleep, snoring loudly.

Tenten sweatdropped again. _Did he mean that I was supposed to count till one thousand sheep leaping over the fence to pass this level and that I can't fall asleep?_

She shrugged and sighed, knowing it was a rhetorical question in her head. _Ah, well. Might as well get on with it. Wait for me, teddy bear! _Tenten squealed.

"One, two, three, four…"

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"Tenten, disqualified!"

"Ahh…so the youthful flower of our team is out as well. I must work triply hard for the sake of Team Gai!" As usual, flames danced in Lee's eyes, determined to win the game.

"Welcome, welcome, dear brave adventurer, to the sixth level!" the red-spotted horse neighed, "I am Touya, and you have to do something very special for this stage. If you can manage to let the balloon touch the spikes of the cactus without popping the balloon, you pass. If not…you would have to hug the cactus yourself for five minutes to pass or you give up on this stage."

Lee froze. The horse chuckled.

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"Rock Lee, disqualified!"

Ino bit her lips and narrowed her eyes. _So many people already…huh? Heh, that teddy bear is mine, forehead girl!_

At this moment, a pink and blue streaked snake appeared in front of Ino. She almost screamed, covering her mouth with her hand before doing so, fortunately. The snake eyed her, as though hurt somehow, before speaking.

"Welcome…to the ssseventh ssstage…I am…Sssaya…" it slithered, "you will have to do a tongue-twister for thisss…Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.  
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?"

Ino gawked at the snake, who seemed to finish the tongue-twister in nanoseconds. She sighed in defeat, shaking her head to herself.

"Spare me. I give up."

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"Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, disqualified!"

Chouji continued to happily eat away at the seemingly infinite amount of potato chips he had brought with him, unaware that both his teammates had already been disqualified some time ago.

"Arhem."

Chouji looked up. And a magnificent sight of the dragon greeted him. "I'm your host for the eighth level, Ryuuki," the dragon spoke, flying in mid-air, "This level would be a test of your courage. You will pass if you can walk into the cave and out again, for it is a one-way road and is blocked at the end. That is, without screaming."

Chouji nodded, and walked into the cave, where the dragon had pointed. A moment later, though…

Ryuuki smirked. _Youngsters nowadays…_

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"Akimichi Chouji, Aburame Shino, disqualified!"

Hinata sighed. _There's only me, Sasuke-san and the senseis left now, huhs? _But, while in the middle of her pondering, appeared a small white and black streaked rabbit.

"Hello! Welcome to the ninth level! First of all, congratulations for reaching this far, for there are only twelve levels to be completed. I am your host for this stage, Piho. Your task for this stage would be to try and resist my puppy eyes, and to refrain from hugging me, alright?"

Hinata nodded, before squealing and fainting. Piho sweatdropped and scratched its ears.

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"Hyuuga Hinata, Hatake Kakashi, disqualified!"

Anko smirked. _Woah, surprise, surprise. This sure is big news. _And then, a red-streaked ears, yellow and orange striped tiger appeared before her.

"Welcome, to the tenth level. I am Kouyuu, and the task would be to get the ball out of this flask without breaking it or turning it over," the tiger held up the conical flask with the ping-pong ball inside.

Anko smirked again. She took the flask from Kouyuu's outstretched paws and took out her own water bottle, pouring the water into the flask. The ball soon rose to the top, and Anko took it out easily.

The tiger chuckled, clapping his paws.

"Good job. Please proceed on to the next level."

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Kurenai put her hands on her waist, patiently waiting for the host to appear. When it did, however, it appeared with only its head. Just like the Chesire Cat from Alice in WonderLand. Instead of being surprised, Kurenai chuckled at the scene, and waited for the host to talk, which was about a minute later.

"Welcome…to the eleventh level…I, Miya, am your host. To pass, please, pat me on my head, say comforting words to my ears, treat me like how you would treat your pet…"

There was a strong tension of silence in the atmosphere at that moment.

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"Mitarashi Anko, Uchiha Sasuke, Sarutobi Asuma, disqualified!"

Yuuhi Kurenai grinned to herself as the final host came into her view. The mouse was not just an ordinary grey; it was sparkly and glittery, and its tail was the seven colours of the rainbow.

"Hehs. One of the few people to had actually last those eleven long levels. I commend you. If you can pass my stage, the prize would be greater than you could have ever imagined. But, that's an if. It's practically impossible for a guy to pass this level, let alone a girl…"

Kurenai's eyes slitted.

"So, what exactly are the task and requirements of this final stage?"

The seemingly arrogant mouse smirked.

"Guess, my name,"

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Naruto was yet again bear-hugging Hinata in a corner, Shino was talking to his bug, Lee was ranting on about how great youth was, Anko was licking her kunai, as usual, Kakashi was reading his perverted book, Tenten was talking to Ino, a rare sight, Sakura was rambling on to an irritated Sasuke, Kiba was still trembling in fear, praying to Kami-sama, Neji was mediating in a corner, Chouji was eating his potato chips, Shikamaru was dozing on a nearby couch, Asuma was smoking.

Typical, typical gang. Tsk. Weren't they surprised when they heard that Kurenai had emerged as the winner.

"Really?!"

"Kurenai-sensei, you're awesome!"

"…"

"Oh my god!"

But then again, even the crew staff were surprised.

"Wha-How did you-Oh my god. Even we didn't know the answer to the twelfth level. What was it?"

"Sai," Kurenai answered calmly.

"Huh?"

"That mouse's name was Sai. It's easy to guess you know?"

"But…how did you know?"

"S stands for stupid, A stands for arrogant, I stands for impolite. Put them together, and we have Sai. Plus, Sai in Chinese means faeces."

"…"

"Where's my prize?"

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

With the crew staff left stumped, Kurenai took the prize for herself, that gigantic teddy bear. Even the four girls had no complaints. She laughed, thinking about how easy the whole thing was.

But, there were still people chasing the crew staff after all. A huge amount of girls.

"What did you mean by putting that offending pig there in the first level?!"

"Grunt like a pig indeed! Why you-"

"Let's slaughter them!"

"Yeah! How insulting!"

The gang sweatdropped as they watched the girls chasing after the crew staff, yelling out how they were going to personally slaughter them.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Hina-chan!"

"Eh, hai, Naru-kun?"

Naruto smiled happily for all he was worth in the world. They had just returned back from the exhausting six-hour adventure quest and had declined the others' offer for a tour and a walk around the big cruise, rather preferring to stay inside their room with each other's presence around them.

"I love you," Naruto mumbled, pecking Hinata on the cheeks.

Smiling, she responded likewise.

"I love you too, Naru-kun,"

She hugged Naruto tightly, petting his, as usual, unruly hair.

"Why do you seem so tense today?" Hinata asked, directing her look towards Naruto.

Pouting, he didn't say anything for a moment, but complied in the end.

"I don't know why…I'm just afraid of losing you, I guess,"

"To what?" the girl chuckled lightly.

"Well…I really don't know…I just love spending all my moments together with you,"

Hinata smiled.

"Thank you, for showing that you love me. I love you a lot too," the girl placed a kiss on the boy's lips, who immediately slipped in his tongue into her mouth, gently.

They broke apart soon, for the undeniable need for air, smiling at each other. But, looking at the slightly worried expression in Naruto's eyes that she did not miss, Hinata added on.

"I, Hyuuga Hinata, will love only Uzumaki Naruto for life, for eternity, forever. He will be my first and last love I will ever have in my life."

Naruto's eyes brightened up considerably.

"Hina-chan! Daisuki!" he launched a bear-hug at the unprepared Hyuuga heiress, and they both fell on the bed they were sitting on, laughing together.

Naruto's face, up close, was flushed red, probably from being so elated after hearing what Hinata said. It was unbearable cute too, and it made Hinata squeal uncontrollably on the inside, pulling Naruto closer to her, for another kiss.

It was several hours later after their usual kissing sessions did they finally stop, both flushed red with happiness. They chuckled quietly, deciding to settle down for the night.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

END : CHAPTER 4 :

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A/N : Oh . My . God . Like, finally. Sorry for the long delay, especially to both SiLi & Afiq ): but heys! Now I've uploaded it already (: & it's the middle of exams too. Be glad:D Alright now. QUIZ TIME! To people who had been reading my A/Ns all this while, thank you, & here's your chance! Remember, somewhere in the story, at the third level of the game? Here's the big question ;

What question did Sasuke ask both the doors to determine which is the door that tells the truth?

Person who tells me the correct answer via reviews or email will get a free virtual cookie & a free request of a one-shot story of Naruto of whatever couple they want! (: Looking forward to it! & please, review more please. I'm losing confidence already ):


	5. Day Three on KonohaCruises

Disclaimer : My beloved teddy bear would come alive once I owned Naruto.

A/N : Hello universe. Kyasha-sama is back. Sorry for the long delay, I totally forgot about this ficlet. Alright, for the 'Quiz Time' from the previous chapter…no one got it right. The correct answer is; Sasuke asked both the doors what the other door would say if he asked which was the door of truth. The door of truth would say the door of lies, cause the door of lies would not say that the door of truth is the real one, & the door of lies would say itself, cause the door of truth would say itself, & the door of lies will lie about it, saying itself instead.

Well, if there's anyone who doesn't get this…sighs. Oh wells. Dedicated to SiLi, Afiqah & niwichan2468 as usual. Enjoy :D

_The Daily Happenings of Konoha_

_Chpt 5 – Day Three on KonohaCruises_

_By : SleepyDreamGirl_

"Please?"

"Pretty pretty please? With tomatoes on top?"

Sasuke relented. Sakura squealed, tackling her boyfriend with a bear hug.

"Thank you!"

"Just so you know, it's only this once."

"I got it." Sakura gave her best puppy eyes.

The Uchiha sighed. Sakura could be so difficult at times. Especially when it came to stuff she wanted very much. Except for this time round, it was a hard request to fulfill, no joke.

_Of all things…asking me to wear that disgusting cat-ears? _Sasuke shuddered involuntarily. Something was obviously very wrong with his girlfriend, who was giggling away at the moment.

_Haha…Sasuke…Cat-ears…haha, that would be so interesting, I must take my camera for this special occasion! _Sakura tried stifling her laughter by covering her mouth with her hands, to no avail, while walking over to her bag to take out her camera, along with the cat-ears.

Sasuke slowly inched back as Sakura walked towards him, with an unmistakable evil glint in her eyes.

A step back…another step back…yet another step back…oh no! Poor Sasuke was cornered, his back against the cold wall, not offering him the least bit of comfort at all.

"Sasuke-_chan_…don't be scared, come to mommy…" the object that caused Sasuke yet another wave of shudders down his spine was held on to threateningly in Sakura's hands, who, at the moment, was too caught up in pinning Sasuke down.

The Uchiha gulped, and started sweatdropping profusely.

"Wa-wait, Sakura, we can talk things over…"

"Hmm? You already agreed to my request, you can't back out now, Sasuke-chan…That would be breaking our promise. A guy can't do that no matter what, can he? It's so despicable and downright low," Sakura pouted.

Sasuke started to chew on his bottom lip out of nervousness.

_What? This can't be! I'm getting scared of a mere object that's furry and small and practically harmless and…and… _He stopped in his train of thought midway, because Sakura had suddenly just leaned in, a whole lot closer, invading his personal space. He breathed in her cherry scent, going wild for just that moment, before regaining his composure again when he saw exactly how close the cat-ears were to his face.

…_and scary and irritating and disgusting and annoying and a nerve-wrecker!_

**SNAP**

Sasuke went insane.

Sakura blinked. She rubbed her eyes, and blinked again. And then, blinked twice. She stared. She shut her eyes tightly, shook her head hard, and opened her eyes again. She stared again. And her eyes went wide.

"…Sasuke?"

For, the ice cube once known as Uchiha Sasuke had seemed to transform.

He was wearing the cat-ears on his head, his expression like a cat, and he had his hand held up to his face like a paw, stroking his face.

"Nyaa?"

Sakura squealed.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Hahaha…"

Sasuke glowered, with the faintest trace of red on his face appearing.

**Bang. Bang. Bang.**

The other customers, who were eating, chatting among themselves, turned their heads to look at the source of the noise.

Sasuke glared.

They froze and quickly turned back.

"Sakura," the Uchiha hissed, "Stop it."

The pink-haired girl, who was banging on the table, unable to control her laughter, tears forming at her eyes, somehow managed to give a small nod, and instead, turned to the napkin for help instead, biting on it.

The others who had already arrived at the table either merely looked with amused faces or stare with confused expressions.

"So, Sakura, care to tell us what's so interesting that made you laugh till you're in this state?" Tenten popped up the question everyone had wanted to ask.

Deadly silence. Moments passed with no one daring to speak. Seconds went by…Minutes went by…

A deadly smile.

"Oh, it's nothing much, really. Come here Tenten, I'll show you what it is if you're really that curious about it."

Sasuke turned pale.

Tenten happily skipped over to where Sakura was sitting, camera on her lap.

**Click, click, click.**

Sasuke froze.

Tenten started leaning down, a bit closer to the camera that Sakura was holding up for her to see.

"Is that...a human cat?"

Nod.

Sasuke's palms suddenly got sweaty.

Stare.

"That's Sasuke isn't it?"

A fast nod, complete with a totally devious grin.

Everyone's ears perked up, and they stared at Sasuke.

_Sasuke…Human cat…_

And they rushed towards Sakura, who held the camera up even higher for everyone to get a better view of **Kawaii Neko Sasuke-chan**.

Sasuke exploded into flames of agony, watching as his pride evaporated from his body.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"So-" a failure attempt to cover the laughter, "Uh," giggles and chuckles. "We're supposed to get off the ship at 12 noon…" snickers and guffaws. "Pack your bag, and we'll meet here in the lobby at 11.30am," someone was leaning against the wall for support due to lack of air from laughing, "All clear?"

Kakashi didn't get any nods. Instead, everyone was trying to stop laughing. All except **Kawaii Neko Sasuke-chan**, that is.

"Alright," Kakashi grinned, "Dismissed."

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Ah…the sun's too bright…" Ino squinted her eyes while looking up at the sky.

"Tch," Shikamaru grumbled.

Ino turned, a frown appearing on her face. _What's wrong with this guy? Can't he just enjoy the atmosphere for once?_ She narrowed her eyes on him. _Argh, forget it. _She focused on the group instead.

Naruto and Hinata were lovey-dovey as usual, Neji and Tenten were walking side by side, chatting quietly, Sasuke had little veins on his forehead popping out with Sakura by his side rambling on about how cute he was, Shino was talking to his bugs as usual, Lee was showing Kiba his 'youthful spirit' by helping him carry all his luggage, Kakashi, for once, wasn't reading his Icha Icha Paradise, instead having his full attention focused on Anko who seemed to be making a deal with him, Chouji was silently observing Asuma and Kurenai who were chatting, eating his potato chips.

The blonde girl sighed.

Ever since they had gotten off the ship 2 hours ago, the surroundings had been the same. Trees, blue sky, and scorching hot sun shining down on them relentlessly. Yet, she seemed to be the only one who minded the sun.

_Why can't we just go there by jumping through the trees? Do we really have to walk all the way there? It's such a chore! Argh, this is so stupid. _She rolled her eyes, and sighed again in defeat.

The pineapple-head blinked, catching Ino as she sighed for the second time.

…_Tch. Troublesome woman with her sighs. It's irritating me. _Shikamaru grumbled inwardly, fully well aware that the only reason it was irritating him was because he did not want Ino to feel frustrated.

He focused on the road ahead instead, the scenery suddenly seeming much more interesting to look at.

The group of sixteen ninjas continued on their trek to the hotel in this manner, with a certain Yamanaka and Nara lost in their own realm of inner thoughts.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Naruto's eyes shone brightly at the sight of the grand hotel. He started drooling after a while, seemingly lost in his thoughts. The others sweatdropped.

_Baka Naruto, he must be thinking about all the delicacies we can get to eat in this 5-star hotel, _Sakura grimaced.

The group then proceeded to enter the posh hotel and checked in.

**Beep. Beep. Beep. Invalid ticket.**

The receptionist scanned the ticket that Kakashi gave to her again.

**Beep. Access denied. Please check and reconfirm again.**

The lady looked up from where she was sitting.

"Uh, I'm sorry sir, but this ticket can't be used."

Kakashi looked at her, and the receptionist looked back.

**Tick, tock, tick, tock.**

_DAMN TSUNADE! SHE TRICKED US! _The inner agonies of the ninjas cried out.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Somewhere in Konohagakure, Hokage Towers, at the Godaime's seat, someone who was blonde with pigtails sneezed.

"Are you alright, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked worriedly.

Tsunade waved it off with a grin of her own.

"I think they should have reached the Islands of Paradise by now. I wonder what reactions they would have."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Tsunade merely smiled.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Dejected atmosphere.

The group of sixteen walked on and on endlessly without any knowledge of wherever they're heading.

Naruto, especially, had gone into a stage of severe depression. _My…food. My ramen…MY RAMEN! _He cried piteously on the inside.

Hinata glanced at her boyfriend, holding his hand tightly. _I wonder what I can do…Ah. I have an idea. It might not work though…well, anything's worth a try at this point of time. _She smiled.

She leaned in onto Naruto, and whispered something into his ears. He listened moodily, before perking up and becoming hyperactive and energetic all of a sudden again.

_I wonder what she said… _Ino sweatdropped.

And then, Kiba suddenly stopped walking, causing Chouji, who was right behind him, to crash into his back as he was busily thinking about his precious potato chips supply.

"What's with you?" Chouji grunted.

The dog-guy merely gaped and pointed shakily with his finger, up ahead of them.

Chouji turned. He widened his eyes in surprise, which was in fact, quite difficult to do, taking his small, miniscule eyes into account.

"I-It's a-!"

The rest of the group who was observing them turned in the direction that Kiba pointed as well.

"AN ONSEN!" Naruto blurted.

The atmosphere surrounding the Konoha ninjas brightened up almost instantaneously as they rushed towards the onsen.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Irashaimasen!"

The group looked around. It was really an onsen. They grinned and went to the counter, where the receptionist was.

"Sixteen people, right?"

Nods.

"Please wait for a moment,"

"Ok,"

A few minutes later, the receptionist spoke up again.

"Ah, you're in luck tdy, okyakusama. You all would be our 1001st customers and will not be charged any fees. Furthermore, you all would be given a free ticket to stay at our hotel which is connected to this onsen, on the 2nd floor."

…silence.

Then, smiles stretched from ears to ears.

"I see, thank you very much," Kakashi spoke for the group, receiving the tickets from the receptionist.

They went up to the 2nd floor in total, dead silence, before erupting into chaos and joy over their superior luck.

"Hahs! Even if it's that Baa-chan trying to sabotage us, Lady Luck is still on our side! That old hag can't beat that no matter what!" The hyperactive blonde had exclaimed proudly, with a Hinata tugging on his sleeve telling him to lower his volume.

When everything had settled down again, Kakashi took the liberty to sort out the tickets. Ticket, to be exact, without a 's'.

The mask-clad silver-haired ninja cleared his throat.

"It seems that there's only one ticket given to us…"

Gasps were emitted, the shock hanging in the air.

"…and it seems that this ticket is for one, big large room enough to fit all sixteen of us."

Sighs were emitted, the relief hanging in the air.

"But, there's no separating door between the girls and boys side."

Everyone froze. Several microseconds later, they smirked.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Ah…onsens are the best after all! They feel so relaxing."

"Exactly…but I still can't believe our luck though, it's suspicious."

"C'mon Tenten, loosen up. We're in the onsen right now, you should be thankful that we have such great luck you know."

The brunette sighed.

"Alright, I got it."

Ino beamed.

"By the way Ino, how's your relationship with Shikamaru? You two were acting quite hostile towards each other during our trek to the hotel, or so I've noticed," Sakura cut in.

The blonde shrugged rather nonchalantly.

"The same? Nothing's changed,"

Sakura cringed.

"You call that 'the same'? You're hopeless, sheesh,"

Tenten looked thoughtfully as she watched the two exchange retorts.

"Maybe he was angry at that moment? I was observing him while talking to Neji too,"

Both Ino and Sakura stared at Tenten incredulously, as if she was a monster from outer space.

"What?" Tenten flushed.

When Sakura finally got her voice back, she managed to choke out some words.

"The Nara Shikamaru? Angry? Oh, I can hardly imagine,"

The Weapon Mistress rolled her eyes at Sakura's indicated sarcasticness.

"Oh well. It's just what I thought from my viewpoint, that's all. No need to get so worked up over it,"

Ino then pursed her lips into a thin line. _If Shikamaru was angry…I wonder what he could had been angry about…Argh, this is so vexing. Why is he always the one clouding over my mind! Forget it, forget him. _She shook her head.

Behind them, Hinata listened quietly, being entirely forgotten out of their excitement over the Nara. She giggled lightly before getting out of the water quietly, tiptoeing back to the changing room.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Heaven. The onsen felt so heavenly. Naruto immediately plunged into the hot waters when he reached the onsen, splashing water onto the others who went in before he did.

Sasuke glared at Naruto, growling in a low menacing tone.

No sweat, the Uzumaki didn't even notice the scary glare the Uchiha sent him, otherwise being too engaged in swimming in the onsen happily.

Shikamaru sighed at the scene in front of him. He really needed some peace and quiet now, not more noise with chaos ensuing. With troublesome thoughts encircling his entire mind, he could not quite focus on any other matter. _Troublesome…_

Naruto, at this moment, glanced at Chouji and flashed a grin. The Akimichi flashed back an equally devious grin. They quietly snuck to the sides of Shikamaru, who had closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the onsen.

"Shi-ka-ma-ru," Naruto pronounced his syllables slowly and teasingly.

The said guy didn't even sputter in shock. He froze, as solid as ice, his movement hardened instantly, unable to even think of any coherent sentences. He cracked when after a few moments, he finally managed to realise that it was the stupid blonde that had whispered into his ears, sending shudders up and down his spine repeatedly.

Chouji watched at the other sidelines, amused with Shikamaru's reaction.

"Naruto," the Uzumaki's name was drawled out with icy malice and venom dripped on it, "Don't ever do that again."

Naruto gulped and nodded nervously when he saw Shikamaru's face, dead serious. _Mommy! I'm scared! _He wailed inwardly.

Chouji laughed heartily, patting Shikamaru on the back, though it was more like slapping him hard on the back.

"Hahas, don't mind, though I have to admit that it was a nice one that Naruto managed to pull off. Your reaction was hilarious. Priceless, I tell you,"

The strategic genius grunted, now even more dissatisfied than before.

"By the way…why were you so angry today? I saw you pissing Ino off too," Chouji went straight to the point.

"What? Pissing her off? I didn't even do anything,"

"Yeahs, sure,"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I'm not angry anyway,"

"My hypothesis is that due to severe lack of interaction and development during the 3-day KonohaCruises trip, it led to you feeling slightly fed-up on the inside, which caused you to be angry, am I right?"

The Nara grunted again, turning away. Chouji smirked, turning to Naruto, who gave a thumbs-up in reply. They decided to stop teasing Shikamaru, and moved away to join the others who were spread out in the onsen, leaving him in his thoughts.

_Keh. Troublesome fellows. _Shikamaru closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Kiba was conversing with Naruto soon after he slunk over. They exchanged a mischievous look at each other, muttering, 'Se, no!' before putting their plan into action.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Harem no Jutsu!"

**Poof! Poof! Poof!**

Kiba laughed in glee as he watched even Neji who had a massive nosebleed. The only few who weren't affected, mainly being Shikamaru, and surprisingly, Lee, sighed at their prank.

_Baka. _Was the only thought the genius had in his mind. _Though I didn't expect Sasuke, Neji and Shino to fall for this either. Guess they must have been weak against these sort of things. _He shrugged.

While Lee was busy chasing after Naruto shouting, "Naruto-san! You should not do shameful acts like this! It's a disgrace to the youth of men!" and all Naruto did was stick his tongue out at him, with Kiba who was clutching his stomach laughing away, the people who had suffered from massive nosebleeds stayed motionless after being shocked by Naruto.

Shikamaru wad over to them, trying to poke Sasuke, Shino, Chouji and Neji awake.

"Hello? Are you guys still alive?"

All he got was blank expressions staring back at him though. So much for trying to poke them awake. He sighed, deciding to stop wasting his time with a gang of idiots, trying to relax in the onsen instead.

When Lee finally got a hold of Naruto, he sucked in his breath, wanting to scold him, when suddenly a **POOF! **sounded in his ears.

"Ara?"

He blankly stared at the log he was holding in his hands.

Silence. And then…

"NARUTO!"

The said guy grinned from behind the changing room's sliding doors, before disappearing behind it, chuckling.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"Where did Hinata go off to, geez," Sakura grumbled.

Ino and Tenten looked at her before showing an 'I don't know either,' expression.

"She might be with Naruto somewhere, who knows. The two of them had been acting so lovey-dovey lately that it's giving me the chills," Tenten shuddered.

Sakura laughed it off with a wave of her hand.

"Tenten, don't tell me you're jealous of their relationship. Is your own personal relationship lacking so much 'skinship' to this extent?"

"Sakura!"

"Ok, ok, I got it, it's just a joke, relax,"

With Tenten busy fuming at the laughing Sakura, Ino's train of thoughts drifted to Shikamaru once more. _That guy…I wonder what's with him. Don't tell me he's vexed over girl problems? Nah, that's impossible. He would have just waved it off with a 'Troublesome,' or something. What is it? I can't figure it out…Ah. Don't tell me…No, that's definitely out of the question, how could I even ever think of such a thing! Forget it! I'll just ask him later, _She decided with a sigh.

Glancing up, she thought she saw a glimpse of Naruto in a deep conversation with Hinata. She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and stared hard. Gone.

_Ah, _she thought absentmindedly, _Must have been my imagination. Oh well. I wonder where Hinata is now…_

Around the corner, hidden by the wall, both Naruto and Hinata sighed in relief. _Safe! _Their inner selves thought, before they chuckled together. _This is going to be one heck of a prank…_

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

"In the end, Naruto-san didn't even show up for dinner huh?" Lee remarked.

"He probably didn't want his ass to be kicked by you," Kiba retorted, while Lee snorted in reply.

"He shouldn't had disgraced the youth of young men like us! Kiba-san, you're in the wrong too, for joining in the prank,"

The Inuzuka rolled his eyes at Lee's ancientness, not bothering to retort anymore.

"If you say so,"

Lee grinned, nodding his head furiously, while Shikamaru rolled up the sleeves of his yukata, fanning himself slightly due to the damp heat of the table-tennis room.

The sound of the ping-pong ball being hit echoed throughout the room, Neji at one end, Sasuke on the other. Auras of fire erupted, and the table-tennis table became a heated place of death match.

Chouji, seated at one of the spare chairs, ate his potato chips rather noisily, enjoying the battle both the Hyuuga and Uchiha were having. Shino, who was still recovering from his nosebleed, was talking to his bugs, telling them to be careful of Naruto's Harem no Jutsu.

Shikamaru had a wry expression on his face, looking at his surroundings.

_This is so boring. Ah, why did I even forget to bring my shogi board. I can't even play with Asuma to kill time. _He sighed, massaging his tired temples.

Kiba, who had stopped arguing with Lee, observed Shikamaru with a sly smile. He nudged Lee, who was sitting beside him, motioning him to come closer with his hand. Lee stooped a bit, and Kiba muttered in his ears, Lee's eyes widening bit by bit as he listened.

"Is this the truth, Kiba-san?"

"Yeah, don't you trust me?"

"Yosha! The power of youth will not cease to extend its hand to people troubled by problems of youth!" Lee's eyes burned furiously, while Kiba sweatdropped at his over-energetic attitude.

_I think I went over the line…Nah, knowing that Nara, maybe this isn't even enough. _Kiba sniggered quietly.

"Shikamaru-san," Lee strode up to the said guy.

"Ah?" the genius opened his eyes tiredly, only to find a green-spandex suit held out in front of him. He blinked profusely, unable to catch a hold on the situation.

"What th-"

"Shikamaru-san!" Lee loudly interrupted him.

"Y-yes?"

"I know everyone has his hard times!" the green beast of Konoha announced boisterously.

"Uh, yeah…" Shikamaru sweatdropped.

"But don't worry! The power of youth is always there for us!"

Shikamaru decided to remain silent this time round.

Lee glanced at him when he kept quiet. He cleared his throat, and continued.

"Don't worry about it, Shikamaru-san. I know of your problem already. Kiba-san told me a moment ago,"

Shikamaru gave Lee a quizzical look, and then turned to Kiba who grinned and gave a thumbs-up in reply. _What the heck is going on here? Kiba must be up to one of his tricks again. I better be careful, and-_

"I heard that you have troubles with controlling your **BEEP **in arousing situations which many others can, and is very vexed by it. Be rest assured though! This newly improved green-spandex will help you. It had been modified by Gai-sensei, and I slightly edited it. It has many features, including calming your **BEEP **in many difficult situations," Lee once again interrupted Shikamaru.

Kiba burst out laughing at that moment, while Shikamaru was still staring blankly at Lee.

The sound of the ping-pong ball being hit over the table stopped, the ball itself rolling on the floor. The death auras disappeared completely. The sound of the chomping of potato chips stopped as well, and Shino stopped talking to his bugs, taking interest in the now changed atmosphere.

"What? Troubles with controlling my **BEEP**?" Shikamaru asked incredulously, after a few painful minutes of total silence, minus Kiba's continuous laughter.

"Yeah," Lee stated with a smile, "Isn't that so? I know it must have been hard for you, going through all those embarrassing moments. Let the power of youth help you!" he flashed his trademark grin, showing his pearly white teeth.

After another few minutes of deadly silence, someone spoke up.

"I-is that so, Shikamaru? I didn't know…oh god, I'm so sorry for not noticing," Sasuke mumbled darkly, giving his condolences.

"Shikamaru! Why did you keep this from me?"

"…I'm feeling sorry to hear this,"

"…" A creepy grin showed on someone's face.

Shikamaru gawked at their sentences, mouth unable to move. Suddenly, Lee placed his hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Shikamaru-san. All of us are men here. Let us share our joy and sorrow together!" the background showed the setting sun and the ocean splashing wildly, Lee with tears in his eyes, all the while with Shikamaru having a blanked out expression on his face.

"I…have troubles…controlling…my **BEEP**? I didn't know…" the Nara fell into a severe state of depression, his thoughts becoming incoherent.

Kiba howled even harder, falling off his chair the moment he saw Shikamaru losing his sanity.

_Th-this is hilarious! Not only did Lee believe me, that Nara really fell into the clutches of insanity! I m-must record this down! Never in the event of history will this ever happen again! _Gasping for air through midway and clutching at his stomach which was in pain from laughing too much, Kiba searched for his camcorder in his bag while he tried to restrain himself from laughing anymore, to no avail.

Meanwhile, both Sasuke and Neji dropped their table-tennis bats, walking briskly towards the despaired Shikamaru.

"Don't worry buddy. We'll support you. Be strong," Sasuke grimaced.

"Exactly. We'll stand through joy, grief, sorrow and happiness with you. We understand your pain," Neji grimaced as well.

Chouji came over next.

"Shikamaru you bastard. Why didn't you tell me earlier? I wouldn't had teased you about it," the Akimichi tried comforting Shikamaru.

A black beetle landed on Shikamaru's finger out of the blue. The Nara looked at it. It smirked. Shikamaru cracked. He slammed his fists on the chair he was sitting on, standing up.

"ENOUGH! FIRSTLY, I DO NOT HAVE PROBLEMS CONTROLLING MY **BEEP**!" he roared.

Silence. Everyone stared at him. The genius thought that he had finally convinced them. And then…

"Shikamaru-san! Please do not act in this manner! We know you're already depressed over this matter, you're even more embarrassed now that we've found out your secret right? We, as men, will definitely not let the cat out of the bag! Believe in youth!"

"Shikamaru…I'm disappointed in you. I thought you would have kept your cool about this…"

"I bow down to you for being able to deal with this problem until now, Shikamaru. I have newly-found respect for you now,"

"Shikamaru, I'll treat you to loads of steaks and a BBQ party after this mission ok? We, as buddies, will drown our sorrows in meat!"

"…" Another creepy grin.

Kiba snickered from behind the camcorder he was holding. If he was lucky, he could fetch enough money from this video to buy more elegant prank-related stuff and have fun with it. He could also blackmail the Nara with the video. Thinking about what he could make him do made the Inuzuka laugh even more.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the responses he got. _This is so not happening. No, tell me this is all just a nightmare, an evil dream. Yes, it must be a dream. Wake up, me! _He slapped himself on the cheek, hard. The others quietened once more as they watched the Nara slap himself repeatedly.

_He must be really embarrassed that we found out his secret that he was driven to insanity… _they sweatdropped.

The genius shuddered as he realized that he was in reality, not dreaming at all, what with the red swollen cheeks. _Holy. I'm doomed. Kami-sama, if you're ever so kind, please kill me off right now. _

"Die, die, die, die, die…" Shikamaru suddenly chanted, the onlookers still sweatdropping.

"Let's leave him to his own thoughts," they whispered among themselves, "I think he had enough for today…if we drive him into a corner, he might really snap," they agreed silently.

Lee cleared his throat.

"Ano…Shikamaru-san, I think you should rest for today. You must be exhausted. Whatever matters we have can be resolved tomorrow,"

Shikamaru bit his lips, stopping his chant.

_Doesn't this mean that they totally believed what Lee said and that I'm insane? Argh! I can't deal with this anymore! _He grunted in annoyance.

"Listen," the Nara began, "What Lee said was entirely false. He heard it from Kiba, didn't he?" he shot Lee a glance for confirmation.

"Ah…hai."

They turned to look at the culprit, who was squatting at a corner, still recording with his camcorder. Kiba sweatdropped.

"Uh…this isn't what you think…"

"Hmm…? So, you're saying that what you said to Lee was the truth? May I ask who told you that, then?"

Kiba fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Uh…"

"Cat got your tongue?"

Shikamaru smirked.

"You're going to pay hell for putting me through that humiliation just now,"

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

3am. The dead of the night.

The Konoha ninjas were all sleeping rather peacefully, with one exception who had difficulty breathing because of his swollen face that had been beaten up by Shikamaru hours ago.

The girls' futons were lined up in one row, the boys' in another row.

Somehow, although the girls and boys were supposed to have been sleeping separately, Neji and Tenten were laying side by side, hands intertwined, with Tenten occasionally sending either an arm or a leg flying over Neji, wrapping around him tightly.

They were not the only couple who had been sleeping together though.

Sakura's small, petite hands were fisted up against Sasuke's torso, his arms around her back protectively, their legs tangled up together.

Anko and Kakashi were also sleeping together, though they didn't touch each other, but they had placid smiles on both their faces.

Even Kurenai and Asuma were lying side by side too.

However, the most intimate, lovey-dovey couple wasn't present in the room.

"Naru-kun, be careful of your steps. You wouldn't want to wake them up,"

"Yeah, I got it Hina-chan, arigatou,"

The two ninjas crept swiftly and silently in the room.

_Hah! _Naruto smirked. _Just because this is a holiday mission, everyone let their guards down. The most intricate plan in history will be executed now!_

"Hina-chan," Naruto beckoned for her to come over, "Se, no!"

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

END : CHAPTER 5 :

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

A/N : Hope all of you enjoyed it. I'm really sorry about the late update. I was out of inspiration, and it suddenly hit me full force today, so I wrote it down. :D Thks again to everyone who reviewed.


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